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http://www.archive.org/details/americancollegesOOthwirich 


AMERICAN  COLLEGES 


THEIR  STUDENTS  AND  WORK 


BY 
CHARLES  F.  THWING 


3  »        ■» 


SECOND  EDITION. 

REVISED    AND    ENLARGED, 


NEW  YORK 
G.  P.  PUTNAM'S  SONS 

27  AND  29  West  23D  Street 
1883. 


^^ 


^^;;?^ 


COPYKIGHT, 

O.  P^  PUTNAM'S  SONS, 
1878. 


PREFATORY   NOTE. 


The  favor  extended  to  this  volume  prompts  the 
issue  of  an  enlarged  and  revised  edition.  The 
additional  material  comprises  the  three  chapters, 
"Wealth  and  Endowment,"  "A  National  Univer- 
sity," and  "Woman's  Education."  The  revision, 
although  made  on  every  page,  has  resulted  in 
changes  the  greatest  in  Chapters  I.  and  II.  and  in 
the  Appendix.  Although  absolute  accuracy  in  a 
work  of  this  character  is  not  to  be  attained,  the 
hope  is  indulged  that  its  errors  are  few  and  of  slight 
relative  importance. 

C.F.T. 

Cambridge,  Mass. 


532Gau 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  I. 

PAGS. 

Instruction i 

CHAPTER  II. 
Expenses  and  Pecuniary  Aid 26 

CHAPTER  III. 
Morals 40 

CHAPTER  IV. 

Religion 55 

CHAPTER  V. 
Societies 69 

CHAPTER  VI. 
Athletics  and  Health 81 

CHAPTER  VII. 
Journalism 91 

CHAPTER  VIII. 
Fellowships .107 

CHAPTER  IX. 
Choice  of  a  College 117 

CHAPTER  X. 
Rank  in  College  a  Test  of  Future  Distinction  .  125 

•         CHAPTER  XI. 
Wealth  and  Endowment 143 

CHAPTER  XII. 
A  National  University 166 

CHAPTER  XIII. 
Woman's  Education 178 

Appendix 201 

Index 211 


AMERICAN   COLLEGES. 


CHAPTER  I. 

INST  RUCTIO  N 


The  most  delightful  feature  of  the  history  of 
college  education  in  America  is  the  constant  ex- 
pansion of  the  curriculum.  The  course  of  study  in 
the  first  years  of  Harvard,  Yale,  Dartmouth,  and  all 
the  older  colleges  was  very  narrow  and  meager.  In 
Harvard's  first  decade  the  ability  "  to  read  the  originals 
of  the  old  and  new  Testament  into  the  Latin  tongue, 
and  to  resolve  them  logically,  withal  being  of  godly 
life  and  conversation,"  were  the  only  conditions  de- 
manded of  the  student  for  obtaining  his  first  degree. 
But  the  enlargement  of  the  course  of  study  has  from 
the  very  first  been  constant,  thorough,  and  at  times  ex- 
ceedingly rapid.  Never  more  rapid  has  been  this 
enlargement  and  improvement  than  within  the  present 
decade.     The  requirements  of  admission  are  increas- 


>^ 


2  AMERICAN  COLLEGES. 

ing  in  the  amount  and  accuracy  of  the  knowledge 
demanded.  By  the  recent  advance  in  science,  the 
scientific  studies  in  college  are  quadrupled  in  number 
and  extent.  The  introduction  of  the  elective  system 
into  many  colleges  is  opening  fields  of  knowledge  to 
the  college  man  which  have  been  before  closed,  except 
to  the  special  investigator.  These  characteristics,  so 
admirable  and  assuring  of  the  progress  of  the  higher 
education  in  our  country;  render,  however,  any  repre- 
sentation of  the  studies  offered  by  a  college  inaccurate 
for  any  great  length  of  time.  And  yet  so  constant 
and  so  regular  are  the  relative  advances  made  by 
the  principal  colleges  in  respect  to  the  breadth  and 
variety  of  their  curriculum  that  their  relative  positions 
remain  substantially  the  same  for  a  series  of  several 
years.  The  following  estimates,  therefore,  serv^e  to 
represent  the  amount  of  the  instruction  given  by  the 
different  colleges,  not  only  in  the  present  year,  but 
also  in  the  past  two  or  three  years,  as  well  as  the  gen- 
eral character  of  college  studies  which  will  probably 
prevail  for  the  next  three  or  five  years. 

The  conditions  of  admission  to  a  college  determine 
to  a  large  extent  the  character  of  the  instruction  of 
the  Freshman  year.  These  conditions  are  highest  at 
Harvard,  and  lowest  at  the  small  colleges  of  the  West, 
Harvard's  requirements  for  admission  are  more  than 
than  those  of  the  University  of  Michigan,  Michigan's 


TNSTi     CTION.  3 

more  than  those  of  Yale,  with  the  exception  of  Greek, 
and  Yale's  slightly  more  than  those  of  Amherst. 
Michigan,  though  admitting  the  graduates  of  the  best 
High  Schools  of  the  State  without  examination,  re- 
quires in  general  a  more  extended  knowledge  of 
mathematics  than  Harvard,  but  a  less  extended  read- 
ing of  Latin  and  Greek.  The  requirements  of  Har- 
vard over  those  of  Yale  comprise  a  wider  acquaintance 
with  Latin  poetry,  a  considerable  quantity  of  Latin 
prose,  a  book  of  Herodotus,  a  slightly  more  advanced 
knowledge  of  mathematics,  an  elementary  knowledge 
of  one  of  the  physical  sciences,  and  of  ejther  French 
or  German.  But,  leaving  out  Harvard,  and  possibly 
the  University  of  Michigan,  the  amount  of  the  re- 
quirements for  admission  to  our  colleges  presents  no 
great  or  essential  difference.  Six  or  eight  orations  of 
Cicero,  six  books  of  the  ^neid,  three  or  four  books  of 
the  Anabasis,  and  one,  two  or  three  books  of  the  Iliad, 
beside  the  Latin  and  the  Greek  grammar,  represent 
the  principal  classical  requirements,  and  arithmetic, 
algebra,  and  the  simpler  portions  of  plane  geometry 
represent  the  mathematical.  A  general  knowledge 
of  ancient  history,  English  grammar,  and  modern 
geography  is  also  usually  requisite  to  admission. 

But  the  quality  of  the  knowledge  required  for  en- 
tering our  colleges  is  subject  to  greater  variations  than 
its  quantity.     One  college  demands  a  fa;;  more  critical 


4  AMERICAN  COLLEGES. 

and  definite  knowledge  than  another.  The  examina- 
tions at  one  college  are  written,  as  at  Harvard ;  at 
another,  oral,  as  at  most  colleges ;  and  at  another, 
both  written  and  oral,  as  at  Yale.  One  college  ex- 
amines the  applicant  for  three  days,  as  Harvard  ;  and 
another,  for  only  one  or  two,  the  usual  length  of  time. 
One  college  accepts  the  certificate  of  a  teacher  as  a 
truthful  indication  of  the  student's  worth,  and  sub- 
jects him  to  no  examination  worthy  the  name,  while 
another  pays  little  or  no  heed  to  it.  It  is  usually  re- 
garded that  the  entrance  examinations  at  Williams, 
Dartmouth  or  Bowdoin  are  easier  than  those  of 
Amherst,  Amherst's  easier  than  those  of  Yale,  and 
Yale's  easier  than  those  of  Harvard.  Harvard's  en- 
trance examinations  are  commonly  acknowledged  the 
hardest,  and  she  rejects  about  fifteen  per  cent,  of  ap- 
plicants. Though  more  exacting  than  formerly,  most 
eastern  colleges  reject  less  than  ten  per  cent. 

In  the  following  comparisons  of  courses  of  in- 
struction. Harvard  and  Yale  are  selected  as  types  of 
the  largest  eastern  colleges,  Amherst  as  the  type  of 
eastern  colleges  of  the  average  size,  as  Brown,  Dart- 
mouth, Princeton,  and  Middlebury  as  the  type  of  small 
colleges,  as  Bates  and  Colby.  The  University  of 
Michigan,  though  its  course  of  study  is  far  more  flex- 
ible than  is  usual  with  most  colleges,  represents  the 
large  colleges  of  the  West,  Oberlin  those  of  the  aver- 


INSTRUCTION.  5 

age  size,  and  Beloit  the  better  class  of  its  small 
colleges,  such  as  Marietta,  Olivet.  Into  one  or  an- 
other of  these  six  classes  nearly  all  our  three  hun- 
dred colleges  easily  fall.  Although  no  one  of  the  col- 
leges named  precisely  represents  all  other  colleges 
of  its  class,  each  may  serve  as  a  general  type  of  them. 
Amherst  may  represent  Dartmouth  and  Williams, 
though  the  course  of  instruction  at  Amherst  is  some- 
what different  from  the  course  of  instruction  at  either 
of  the  sister  institutions. 

The  classics  still  continue  to  form  a  large  part  of 
the  course  of  instruction  of  most  colleges.  Though 
the  required  study  of  Latin  and  Greek  ends  at  Har- 
vard with  the  Freshman  year,  yet  the  elective  courses 
are  more  than  sufficient  to  occupy  the  students'  at- 
tention for  the  three  remaining  years.  These  courses 
are  twenty-seven  in  number,  and  provide  sixty  reci- 
tations a  week.  Besides  the  Greek  authors  usually 
read,  Harvard  offers  a  course  in  philosophical  Greek, 
and  in  Latin,  several  unique  courses.  Twelve 
courses  in  the  Semitic  and  Indo-Iranian  languages, 
Hebrew,  Aramaic,  Assyrian,  Arabic,  and  Sanskrit 
are  provided.  At  Yale,  about  three-fifths  of  the 
work  of  the  first  two  years  is  devoted  to  the  clas- 
sics, and  the  authors  are  Herodotus,  ^schylus, 
Cicero,  Tacitus,  and  others  usually  read  in  college. 
The  required  study  of  Latin  and  Greek  ceases  with 


6  AMERICAN  COLLEGES. 

the  Sophomore  year,  but  if  he  choose,  the  student  can 
still  give  about  one-fourth  of  the  work  of  the  remain- 
der of  his  course  to  them.  In  his  Senior  year  he  also 
has  the  opportunity  of  studying  Sanskrit.  At  Am- 
herst, about  two-thirds  of  the  Freshman  and  one-third 
of  the  Sophomore  and  Junior  years  are  spent  upon 
Latin  and  Greek.  The  hardest  Greek  read  is  the 
"  PhiHppics,"  and  the  hardest  Latin,  Quintilian  and 
Tacitus.  At  Middlebury,  the  type  of  the  small  East- 
ern college,  Latin  grammar,  Livy  and  the  Odyssey 
come  in  the  Freshman  year,  and  the  most  difficult 
Greek  in  the  course  is  probably  the  "  Medea  "  of 
Euripides.  The  instruction  in  classics  ends  with  the 
first  term  of  the  Junior  year.  At  Michigan,  the  class- 
ical instruction  is  not  dissimilar  in  amount  and  quality 
to  that  of  Amherst,  but  at  Oberlin  and  Beloit  easier 
and  fewer  authors  are  read. 

The  mathematical  instruction  in  our  colleges  is 
less  in  amount  and  covers  a  shorter  space  of  time 
than  the  classical.  It  begins  in  the  Freshman  year 
usually  with  either  solid  geometry  or  the  more  ad- 
vanced part  of  plane,  and,  passing  through  trigon- 
ometry and  analytical  geometry,  ends  with  mechanics 
or  the  calculus.  At  Harvard,  the  Freshman  recite 
between  three  and  four  hours  a  week  in  solid  and 
analytical  geometry,  plane  trigonometry,  and  advanced 
algebra.     Though  no  mathematics  are  prescribed  after 


INSTRUCTION,  7 

the  first  year,  ten  elective  courses  offer  ample  oppor- 
tunity to  the  student  who  wishes  to  continue  the 
study.  Two  courses  in  quaternions  are  provided,  and, 
so  far  as  I  know.  Harvard  is  the  only  American  col- 
lege at  which  this  new  branch  of  mathematics  can  be 
studied.  At  Yale,  about  two-fifths  of  the  Freshman 
and  Sophomore  years  are  spent  upon  mathematics, 
the  study  beginning  with  advanced  algebra  and  end- 
ing with  conic  sections  and  mechanics.  During  his 
last  two  years,  if  he  wish,  the  student  may  study  cal- 
culus and  analytical  mechanics  to  the  extent  of  four 
recitations  a  week,  and,  during  a  part  of  his  Senior 
year,  he  may  devote  a  small  portion  of  each  week  to 
astronomy.  The  student  at  Amherst  gives  about 
one-third  of  his  Freshman,  and  about  one-fifth  of  his 
Sophomore  year  to  the  study  of  mathematics.  Be- 
ginning with  the  more  advanced  plane  geometry,  he 
may  study  algebra,  trigonometry,  conic  sections,  and, 
if  he  wish,  calculus.  At  Middlebury,  the  mathemat- 
ical instruction  begins  with  algebra  in  the  Freshman 
year,  and  ends,  at  the  close  of  the  second  year,  with 
calculus.  About  one-third  of  the  first  two  years  is 
devoted  to  the  study.  At  the  University  of  Michigan 
also,  mathematical  studies  occupy  the  student's  atten- 
tion for  about  one-third  of  the  time  of  his  first  two 
years.  But  these  studies  in  geometry,  trigonometry 
and  calculus  are  of  a  more  advanced  character  than 


8  AMERICAN  COLLEGES. 

those  at  Middlebury  or  Amherst,  and  more  advanced 
than  the  prescribed  mathematical  studies  at  Harvard. 
Oberlin  requires  her  students  to  spend  about  one- 
fourth  of  their  Freshman  year  upon  mathematics,  and 
permits  them  to  elect  calculus  as  one  of  the  three 
studies  of  the  first  term  of  the  Sophomore  year.  De- 
scriptive geometry  can  also  be  studied  for  a  single 
term  in  the  Junior  year.  Beloit  pays  as  much  atten- 
tion to  the  study  of  mathematics  as  Oberlin,  but  her 
students  hardly  succeed  in  reaching  as  advanced  a 
stage  of  knowledge. 

The  facilities  for  learning  the  modern  languages 
in  our  colleges  have  vastly  improved  within  a  few 
years.  Twenty  years  ago  it  was  difficult  to  find  a 
graduate  who  could  read  French  with  ease,  or  German 
at  all.  But  now  no  one  pretends  to  call  himself 
thoroughly  educated,  unless  he  reads,  writes,  and 
speaks  these  languages  with  fluency.  The  facilities 
for  studying  Spanish  and  Italian  are  still  exceedingly 
meager  in  most  colleges.  At  Harvard,  considerable 
attention  is  paid  to  these  as  well  as  to  French  and 
German.  An  elementary  knowledge  of  either  French 
or  German  is  a  condition  of  admission  to  the  college ; 
and  the  study  of  one  of  these  languages  composes 
about  one-fifth  of  the  work  of  the  Freshman  year. 
Besides  the  prescribed  course,  eight  elective  courses 
are  offered  in  German,  affording  nineteen  hours  of 


INSTRUCTION,  g 

recitation  a  week;  and  in  French,  eight  elective 
courses,  with  fifteen  hours  of  recitation.  There  are 
three  elective  courses  in  Spanish,  and  three  also  in 
Italian.  Cervantes,  Calderon,  Tasso,  Dante,  and  Pe- 
trarch are  the  chief  authors  read.  A  course  in  the 
comparative  philology  of  the  romance  languages  is 
also  offered.  Two  courses  in  Anglo-Saxon  and  early- 
English  are  provided  for  the  student  interested  in  the 
study  of  his  vernacular ;  and  in  EngHsh  literature  also, 
several  courses  are  offered,  beginning  with  Chaucer, 
and  reaching  to  this  century.  Though  at  Yale,  a 
knowledge  of  French  is  not  required  for  admission,  the 
language  may  be  elected  for  four  recitations  a  week 
during  the  Junior  and  Senior  years;  students  are  not, 
however,  allowed  to  elect  it  unless  already  having  a 
knowledge  of  the  elements  of  the  language.  German 
is  a  prescribed  study  of  the  Junior  year  for  three  reci- 
tations a  week,  and  may  be  elected  in  the  Senior  year 
for  four  recitations.  About  one-quarter  of  the  work 
of  the  Junior  year  may  be  devoted  to  the  study  of 
Shakspere  or  of  other  English  authors.  Anglo-Saxon 
may  be  elected  in  the  second  term  of  the  Junior  year 
for  four  hours  a  week ;  and  "  linguistics "  offers  an 
entertaining  course  of  study  for  a  short  time  in  the 
Senior  year.  The  student  of  the  modern  lan- 
guages at  Amherst,  though  having  an  elementary 
knowledge  of  the  French  grammar  on  admission,  re- 


10  AMERICAN  COLLEGES, 

news  his  study  of  the  language  with  his  second  year, 
and  may  continue  it  several  successive  terms  with 
about  'four  recitations  a  week.  German  he  is 
required  to  study  for  a  single  term,  with  four  ex- 
ercises a  week,  and  he  may  also  elect  it  for  five 
terms.  Italian  and  Spanish  he  can  study  during 
the  last  two  years,  but  to  them  he  usually  gives 
comparatively  little  attention.  English  literature  he 
also  studies  for  a  like  period  of  time,  with  three  or 
four  recitations  a  week.  Middlebury  is  accustomed 
to  provide  instruction  in  French  for  her  students, 
though  the  facilities  for  its  study  are  meager. 
Most  colleges,  indeed,  provide  at  least  a  small 
amount  of  instruction  in  the  language.  German 
she  crowds  into  four  recitations  a  week  of  a  por- 
tion of  the  Junior  year.  English  (Trench's  "Study 
of  Words  "  and  "  English,  Past  and  Present ")  forms 
part  of  the  instruction  of  one  term  of  the  Sopho- 
more year ;  and  English  literature  (Taine)  is  studied 
somewhat  in  the  first  term  of  the  Senior  year.  But 
most  colleges  offer  very  meager  opportunities  for 
the  study  of  the  origin  and  growth  of  either  our  lan- 
guage or  our  literature.  At  the  University  of  Michi- 
gan, the  study  of  French  may  begin  at  an  early  stage 
and  may  be  continued  during  the  remaining  years  of 
the  course.  Italian  and  Spanish  are  among  the  elec- 
tive studies  for  those   fitted  to  pursue  them.     To 


INSTRUCTION.  1 1 

both  the  English  language  and  literature  considerable 
attention  is  given.  At  Oberlin,  the  study  of  German 
begins  in  the  first  term  of  the  Sophomore  year,  and  it 
may  form  about  one-third  of  the  student's  work  for 
the  remainder  of  the  year.  The  study  of  French  is 
limited  to  a  single  term  ;  and,  as  in  most  colleges,  the 
student  has  no  opportunity  of  learning  either  Spanish 
or  Italian.  English  literature  may  be  studied  in  the 
Senior  year.  At  Beloit,  as  at  Middlebury,  French  is 
now  set  down  in  the  curriculum ;  and  German  is 
studied  for  only  two  of  the  twelve  terms.  To  English 
literature,  however,  the  student  is  able  to  devote  con- 
siderable attention. 

The  instruction  in  the  various  departments  of 
science  in  our  colleges  has  hardly  kept  abreast  with 
the  discoveries  of  the  last  ten  years.  A  natural  con- 
servatism and  the  expense  of  procuring  scientific  ap- 
paratus tend  to  make  the  college  instruction  in  science 
several  years  behind  the  promulgation  of  scientific 
truths.  ^Harvard,  however,  fosters  in  many  ways  the 
scientific  studies  of  her  students.  Besides  a  prescribed 
course  of  two  recitations  a  week  in  physics,  in  the 
Freshman  year,  she  offers  eight  elective  courses,  with 
twenty-three  exercises  a  week.  In  chemistry,  she  pro- 
vides, in  addition  to  a  prescribed  course  of  lectures  in 
the  Freshman  year,  nine  elective  courses,  extending 
through  the  three  remaining  years.   I  n  natural  history 


12  AMERICAN  COLLEGES. 

eighteen  courses  are  offered,  with  forty-four  exercises 
a  week.  At  Yale,  the  student  during  his  Junior  year 
has  three  recitations  a  week  in  physics ;  and  in  the 
first  term  of  the  year  an  equal  number  in  chemistry. 
Astronomy  is  taught  both  as  a  required  and  an  op- 
tional study.  A  series  of  lectures  is  delivered  in  the 
Senior  year  upon  evolution  and  cosmogony;  and 
geology  is  a  required  study  of  the  first  term  of  the 
year.  Elective  courses  in  the  various  departments 
of  natural  science  and  physics  are  also  offered,  with 
about  twelve  exercises  a  week  during  the  Senior  year. 
Zoology  may  also  be  studied  for  a  short  time  in  the 
Junior  year.  The  instruction  in  science  at  Amherst 
is  of  a  very  comprehensive  character.  It  begins  in 
the  middle  of  the  second  year  with  chemistry,  and, 
after  passing  through  mineralogy,  astronomy,  bot- 
any, biology,  it  ends  at  the  close  of  the  Senior  year 
with  comparative  zoology  and  geology.  About  two- 
thirds  of  the  work  of  the  Junior  year  is  of  a  scien- 
tific nature.  Middlebury  provides  instruction  in  the 
Sophomore  year  in  natural  philosophy,  and  later  in 
chemistry  for  several  hours  a  week  ;  and  in  the  first 
term  of  the  Senior  in  zoology  (Orton),  with  two  reci- 
tations a  week,  and  in  the  second  and  third  terms 
in  geology  (Dana),  with  four  recitations.  At  the 
University  of  Michigan  a  large  share  of  the  work 
of  the  Junior  year  may  be  devoted  to  physics  and 


INSTRUCTION.  1 3 

astronomy.  Several  elective  courses  in  science  are 
offered  in  the  Senior  year,  providing  about  twenty- 
five  hours  of  recitation  each  week.  The  course  of 
study  in  astronomy  is  more  extended  than  that  offered 
by  any  other  of  our  colleges.  The  student  at  Oberlin 
begins  his  scientific  studies  with  natural  philosophy 
(Olmsted)  and  botany  (Gray)  in  the  last  terms  of 
his  Sophomore  year.  About  one-third  of  the  work  of 
the  five  succeeding  terms  he  may  devote,  if  he  wish, 
to  astronomy,  chemistry,  zoology  and  geology.  The 
student  at  Beloit  has  advantages  similar  to  those  of 
his  brother  at  Oberlin  ;  he  has,  however,  little  or  no 
instruction  offered  him  in  zoology.  In  most  colleges, 
the  instruction  and  lectures  in  science  are  supple- 
mented by  the  work  of  the  student  in  the  laboratory. 
Chemical  laboratories  are  established  in  many  colleges, 
but  physical  laboratories  in  but  few. 

The  advantages  our  colleges  afford  their  students  for 
the  study  of  philosophy  are  as  various  as  those  they 
offer  for  the  study  of  science.  At  Harvard  the  prescribed 
course  in  philosophy,  has,  with  a  lack  of  wisdom 
which  this  is  not  the  place  to  question,  lately  been 
abolished.  But  the  elective  courses,  eleven  in 
number,  are  advanced  as  well  as  elementary.  Be- 
ginning with  Descartes,  a  continuous  study  is 
made  of  his  successors,  Malebranche,  Spinoza, 
Leibnitz,    and   of    Kant,    and    the    post-KantianSv 


T4  AMERICAN  COLLEGES. 

The  course  in  Schopenhauer  and  Hartmann  is  the 
only  course  in  the  German  philosophy  of  the  present 
day  given,  so  far  as  I  can  discover,  in  any  American 
college.  The  instruction  in  philosophy  is  rather  criti- 
cal than  dogmatic  ;  its  purpose  is  to  explain  the  dif- 
ferent systems  rather  than  to  teach  a  system.  Though 
more  attention  is  paid  to  intellectual  than  to  moral 
philosophy,  yet  the  various  ethical  theories  can  be 
studied  in  the  Senior  year,  with  several  recitations  a 
week.  In  political  economy,  seven  elective  courses 
are  offered,  comprising  Mill,  Cairnes  and  Carey. 

At  Yale,  as  at  most  colleges,  the  philosophical 
studies  are  relegated  to  the  Senior  year.  Elementary 
logic  is  studied  for  several  weeks  in  the  Junior  year; 
and  about  one-third  of  the  work  of  the  Senior  year  is 
of  a  philosophical  character.  Instruction  is  given  by 
means  both  of  text-books  (Porter,  Schwegler's  His- 
tory) and  of  numerous  lectures.  Political  science  is  a 
required  study  of  the  Senior  year,  with  Mill  as  the  prin- 
cipal text-book.  An  elective  course  is  also  offered 
during  the  second  term,  with  two  exercises  a  week. 
At  Amherst  also,  about  one-third  of  the  work  of  the 
Senior  year  is  devoted  to  philosophy.  Hickok  and 
Schwegler  are  the  leading  authors  studied.  Political 
economy  is  also  taught,  but  to  a  somewhat  less  extent 
than  in  either  Yale  or  Harvard.  At  Middlebury, 
after  the  elementary  logic  of  the  Junior  year,  Calder- 


INSTRUCTION, 


15 


wood*s  "  Moral  Science"  is  studied,  with  four  recita- 
tions a  week  for  a  single  term  ;  and,  in  the  winter  one 
recitation  a  day  is  devoted  to  Butler's  "  Analogy." 
In  the  spring  term  similar  attention  is  paid  to  the  his- 
tory of  philosophy.  Political  economy  is  also  studied 
for  a  single  term,  with  four  recitations  a  week.  At 
Michigan,  logic  and  psychology  are  required  studies 
of  the  first  half  of  the  Senior  year ;  and  moral  phi- 
losophy and  the  history  of  philosophy  are  elective 
studies  of  the  second  term.  They  can,  therefore,  be 
made  to  occupy  a  large  part  of  the  student's  time. 
Political  economy  is  taught  in  no  less  than  seven 
distinct  courses.  The  student  at  Oberlin,  like  the 
student  at  Yale  and  Amherst,  may  devote  about 
one-third  of  his  Senior  year  to  philosophical 
studies — Butler,  Porter,.  Fairchild  representing  the 
principal  text-books  in  mental  and  moral  phi. 
losophy,  and  J.^.S.  Mill  in  political  economy.  At 
Beloit,  mental  philosophy  is  studied  for  a  brief  period 
in  the  Junior  year  ;  and  about  one-third  of  the  Senior 
is  devoted  to  logic,  moral  philosophy  and  the  evidences 
of  Christianity.  In  most  colleges,  especially  in  those 
under  the  strongest  religious  influences,  an  elemen- 
tary study  is  made  of  these  evidences. 

In  but  few  colleges  does  history  receive  that  at- 
tention which  it  is  almost  universally  admitted  to  de- 
serve.    In  most  cases  the  only  instruction  offered  in 


1 6  AMERICAN  COLLEGES. 

it  consists  of  a  course  of  lectures,  necessarily  of  a 
very  general  character,  which,  putting  the  student  in 
possession  of  mere  skeletons  of  theories  and  of  events, 
fail  both  to  inspire  him  with  love  for  the  study,  and 
to  prompt  to  independent  reading  and  thinking.  Har- 
vard offers  very  fair  advantages  for  historical  study. 
The  prescribed  course,  comprising  Freeman's  "  Out- 
lines," the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  and  a 
study  of  the  English  system  of  government,  has  lately 
been  abolished;  seventeen  elective  courses  are  offered, 
with  forty  hours  of  recitation  a  week.  Besides  gen- 
eral courses  in  European  history,  a  course  in  medi- 
aeval institutions  is  offered,  which,  in  its  scope  and 
aim,  is  unique  in  college  instruction.  An  extended 
course  of  study  of  American  history  is  provided  ;  and 
a  single  course  in  diplomatic  history  is  also  offered. 
At  Yale  the  course  in  history  comprises  Hallam's 
"Constitutional  History,"  Woolsey's  "  International 
Law,"  Doyle's  "  United  States,"  and  lectures.  But 
in  the  first  term  of  the  senior  year,  England's 
early  history  may  be  taken  as  an  optional  study 
for  four  hours  a  week,  and  throughout  the  year  a 
course  in  modern  European  history  is  provided. 
At  Amherst  about  one-third  of  the  work  of  three 
terms  of  the  Senior  year  is  devoted  to  history  and 
political  science.  Political  science  is  taught  in  con- 
nection with  the  historical  rather  than  the  philo- 
sophical department.     The  instruction  in  history  con- 


INSTRUCTION. 


17 


sists,  in  the  main,  of  an  extended  course  of  study 
upon  the  general  history  of  Europe.  At  Middlebury 
the  instruction  in  history  is  represented  by  Guizot's 
"  History  of  CiviUzation,"  in  which  the  student  recites 
four  hours  a  week  for  a  single  term.  The  same 
amount  of  time  is  devoted  to  international  law,  with 
Dr.  Woolsey's  "  Manual"  as  a  text-book.  The  Uni- 
versity of  Michigan  provides  extensive  and  excel- 
lent facilities  for  the  study  of  history.  This  subject, 
like  any  other,  may  be  begun  and  pursued  at  the 
reasonable  choice  of  the  student.  No  less  than  nine- 
teen courses  are  provided.  The  later  history  of 
England  and  the  history  of  the  United  States  are 
presented  with  special  fullness.  Considerable  prom- 
inence is  also  given  to  the  study  of  institutions. 
At  Oberlin,  the  instruction  given  in  history  con- 
sists chiefly  of  a  course  of  lectures  delivered  in 
the  second  term  of  the  Senior  year.  At  Beloit, 
ancient  history  is  studied  at  the  beginning  of  the 
first  and  second  years ;  and  in  the  first  term  in  the 
Junior  year,  Guizot's  work  and  the  mediaeval  his- 
tory of  France  form  a  part  of  the  course. 

It  is  only  within  a  few  years  that  our  colleges  have 
given  any  instruction  in  the  fine  arts.  Ten  years 
ago  a  professorship  of  the  history  of  art  was  estab- 
lished at  Harvard,  and  the  department  is  now,  by 


1 8  AMERICAN  COLLEGES. 

means  of  the  seven  elective  courses,  one  of  the  most 
important  and  popular.  Six  elective  courses  in 
music  are  also  provided,  with  fifteen  recitations  and 
lectures  a  week.  Yale  has  a  "  school  of  the  fine  arts," 
whose  aim  is  to  provide  thorough  technical  instruction 
in  the  arts  of  painting,  sculpture  and  architecture ;  to 
furnish  an  acquaintance  with  all  branches  of  learning 
relating  to  the  history,  theory  and  practice  of  art.  The 
course  covers  three  years,  and,  though  it  is  distinct 
from  the  regular  college  course,  is  open  to  all  who 
wish  to  avail  themselves  of  its  advantages.  Vassar, 
in  consequence,  perhaps,  of  being  a  college  for  women, 
devotes  considerable  attention  to  the  fine  arts.  Be- 
sides instruction  in  vocal  and  instrumental  music,  op- 
portunities are  offered  for  "  drawing,  painting,  and 
modelling  in  clay  and  wax."  Most  of  these  courses, 
however,  do  not  belong  to  the  regular  curriculum,  and 
considered  as  a  body,  our  colleges  offer  only  the  most 
meager  instruction  in  the  fine  arts. 

Considerable  attention  is  now  given  to  rhetoric, 
writing  and  speaking,  in  all  the  colleges.  At  Har- 
vard, instruction  is  given  in  rhetoric  for  two  hours  a 
week  during  the  entire  Sophomore  year,  with  Profes- 
sor A.  S.  Hill's  treatise  as  the  principal  text-book.  Six 
themes  or  compositions  are  written  ihthe  Sophomore 
year,  ten  in  the  Junior,  and  four  in  the  Senior.     In 


INSTRUCTION. 


19 


about  twelve  of  these  twenty  essays  the  style  of  writ- 
ing is  chiefly  considered,  and  in  eight  the  thought. 
An  advanced  elective  course  also  in  rhetoric  and 
composition  has  recently  been  established.  In  elocu- 
tion the  professor  gives  instruction  to  those  wishing 
it,  and  about  one-third  of  the  Senior  class,  besides  a 
few  other  students,  avail  themselves  of  the  privilege. 
At  Yale,  the  study  of  rhetoric  begins  about  the  mid- 
dle of  the  Freshman,  and  ends  only  with  the  Senior 
year.  In  the  first  term  of  the  Sophomore  year,  an 
exercise  in  composition  is  held  once  in  three  weeks  ; 
and  in  the  Junior  year  "  forensic  disputations  "  occur 
twice  a  term.  In  his  Senior  year  each  student  writes 
four  compositions.  During  a  part  of  the  Sophomore 
year,  exercises  in  declamation  also  are  held.  At  Am- 
herst; throughout  the  four  years,  exercises  in  either 
composition  or  declamation,  or  both,  are  held  every 
week ;  and  there  is  probably  no  college  at  which 
greater  attention  is  paid  to  these  departments  of  edu- 
cation. Extemporaneous  speaking  also  is  cultivated 
by  constant  exercises.  At  Middlebury,  weekly  ex- 
ercises in  composition  and  rhetoric  are  held.  At 
Michigan,  the  rhetorical  and  English  exercises  occur 
in  each  week  of  the  Freshman  year ;  during  the 
Sophomore  year,  each  student  is  required  to  write  five 
essays  ;  and  in  his  Junior  year,  if  he  elects  the  sub- 
ject,  to   write  and  deliver  several  "speeches."     At 


20  AMERICAN  COLLEGES. 

Oberlin,  every  student  is  usually  required  to  write 
six  essays,  and  take  part  in-  six  debates  in  each  of  the 
four  years  of  his  course,  and  a  brief  study  of  rhetoric 
is  also  made.  At  Beloit,  weekly  rhetorical  exercises 
are  held  in  which  the  student  "  is  called  occasionally 
to  bear  a  part."  But,  beside,  the  instruction  given  by 
the  colleges,  the  societies  of  the  students  present  other 
opportunities  for  both  writing  and  speaking.  These 
societies  are  more  popular  at  Yale  and  Amherst  than 
at  Harvard ;  and,  in  general,  they  flourish  better  in 
Western  than  in  Eastern  colleges. 

Though  a  few  elective  or  "  exchange  "  courses  of 
instruction  have  been  for  years  offered  by  most  col- 
leges, it  was  not  till  the  accession  of  the  present  pres- 
ident of  Harvard  that  the  system  of  elective  studies 
was  introduced.  Though  introduced  at  Harvard  in 
the  face  of  much  opposition,  the  system  has,  by  its 
intellectual  and  moral  advantages,  converted  opposi- 
tion into  staunch  support.  It  constantly  grows  in 
popularity  with  both  professors  and  students,  and 
each  year  the  number  of  elective  courses  is  increased 
and  their  scope  enlarged.  At  this  time  (i  883-1 884), 
one  hundred  and  forty-four  courses  are  offered,  pro- 
viding nearly  four  hundred  recitations  a  week. 
Students  are  not  permitted,  however,  to  avail 
themselves  of  the  privileges  of  the  system  till  the 
Sophomore  year.    All  the  studies  of  the  Freshman 


INSTRUCTION.  21 

year  are  prescribed,  and  about  one-seventh  of  those 
of  the  Sophomore  year.  With  the  exception  of  sev- 
eral essays,  the  studies  of  the  Senior  year  and  the 
Junior  are  elective.  The  liberty  of  choice  is  shown 
by  the  fact  that  one  can,  during  his  course,  take,  as 
regular  studies  for  a  degree,  only  thirty-six  of  the 
nearly  four  hundred  hours  of  electives.  With  the 
academic  year  of  1876-77,  Yale  introduced  a  system 
of  optional  studies.  Each  Junior  and  Senior  "is  re- 
quired to  have  four  exercises  a  week  in  an  optional 
study ; "  that  is,  about  one-third  or  one-fourth  of  the 
work  of  these  two  years  is  elective.  Regarding  a  study, 
having  four  exercises  a  week  for  a  year  as  a  "  course," 
there  are  usually  offered  two  courses  each  in  Greek, 
Latin,  French  and  mathematics,one  course  in  German, 
and  what  may  be  regarded  as  one  course,  though  more 
than  equivalent  to  four  weekly  exercises,  in  Anglo- 
Saxon  and  English  literature.  European  history,  as- 
tronomy, meteorology,  mineralogy  and  mathematical 
crystallography,  geology  and  paleontology  are  studied 
for  a  single  term  with  four  exercises,  or  more,  a  week 
in  each,  and  American  history,  political  economy  and 
physics  for  a  similar  period  with  two  exercises. 
Zoology,  linguistics  and  botany  each  occupies  half  a 
term.  Sanskrit  may  be  studied  for  one  year,  with  two 
double  exercises  each  week.  Amherst  has  about 
seventy  elective  courses,  covering  the  general  field  of 


22  AMERICAN  COLLEGES. 

knowledge.  They  are  opened  to  the  student  in  the 
middle  of  the  second  year,  and  during  the  remainder  of 
his  course  he  can  devote  about  one-third  of  his  time 
to  them.  But  Middlebury,  the  type  of  small  eastern 
colleges,  is  accustomed  to  offer  no  elective  studies  to 
her  students.  In  consequence  of  the  recent  reorgani- 
zation of  the  departments  of  instruction  of  the  Univer- 
sity of  Michigan,  one-half  of  its  studies  for  the 
Bachelor's  degree  have  become  elective.  About  one 
hundred  and  twenty  courses  are  offered,  in  a  large 
number  of  which  either  six  or  four  recitations  are 
held  each  week  for  a  half  year.  At  Oberlin,  during 
the  principal  part  of  the  last  three  years,  four  studies 
are  assigned  to  each  term,  from  which  the  student  is 
required  to  choose  three.  But  Beloit,  the  type  of 
small  western  colleges,  usually  offers  no  elective 
courses,  and  this  is  the  case  with  most  colleges,  both 
East  and  West.  The  University  of  Virginia,  how- 
ever, offers,  and  has  offered  for  years,  with  its  various 
"  schools,"  a  system  of  study  which  is  entirely 
elective. 

The  following  table  shows  the  number  of  hours  of 
instruction  a  week  which  twenty  of  our  representative 
colleges  have  for  several  years  been  accustomed  to 
give  in  the  principal  subjects  of  study.  At  Amherst, 
for  example,  there  are  on  an  average  twenty-one  and 
two-thirds  recitations  in  classics  made  by  all  the  dif- 


INSTRUCTION,  23 

ferent  classes  each  week.     Both  prescribed  and  elec- 
tive studies  are  included  in  the  estimate. 

Classics^ 

Ancient   Mathe-  Mod-    Sci-    Philos-     His-      Fine 

Lang's,    matics.    Lang.   ence.     ophy.       tory.    Arts. 

Amherst .' ..21%  \oyi     9  17^  6^  5         i>f 

Boston 25  6      i6  10  12  81 

Bowdoin 21  >^  7^11  12^  8>^  6        o 

California 26  6       13  14  9  00 

Cornell 32  12       10  10  10  10        o 

Dartmouth. 20  10        4  12  10  20 

Hamilton    22  11         2^  10  10  4^     o 

Harvard 61  29      74  68  23  28      21 

Michigan 28  1215  32  9  8         o 

Middlebury 18  10        4  13  11  41 

New  York 24  12         2  18  8  60 

Northwestern 22  7       15  13^^  7  4^     o 

Oberlin 24  12       10  13^^  12  i         i 

Princeton 30  9         7  15  10  20 

Trinity 23  6>^     9  I2>^  940 

Vassar 27^^  Zyi  21  31^^  10  2       17^^ 

Vermont 21  12       12  15  9  6  ^ 

Virginia 15  19       13  22  4  40 

Wesleyan 26  10       11  27  20  5        o 

Yale 38  17      20  25  14  80 

It  is  impossible  to  obtain  absolute  accuracy  in 
estimates  essentially  so  indefinite,  since  courses  of 
instruction  vary  each  year,  and  are  often  different 
from  the  published  list  of  studies.  Yet,  for  purposes 
of  comparison,  these  figures  may  be  regarded  as  suf- 
ficiently accurate. 


24  AMERICAN  COLLEGES. 

But  it  is  not  the  mere  amount  of  the  instruction 
with  which  a  college  provides  its  students  that  makes 
it  either  great  or  good.  The  quality,  the  tone  of  that 
instruction  is  of  equal,  if  not  greater,  importance.  Its 
thoroughness  and  its  accuracy,  the  discrimination, 
carefulness  and  patience  in  thinking  which  it  demands 
and  cultivates,  determines,  to  a  large  extent,  whether 
a  college  shall  be  a  first-rate  or  only  an  indifferent 
instrument  in  the  formation  of  scholarship  and  men- 
tal discipline.  But  upon  this  critical  question  opinion 
varies  with  all  the  degrees  of  the  graduate's  knowledge 
of  and  fondness  for  his  alma  mater ;  and  no  precise 
estimates  can  be  obtained.  Yet  it  is  commonly  ac- 
knowledged that  certain  characteristics  are  specially 
fostered  by  the  instruction  given  in  the  different  col- 
leges. The  typical  Yale  graduate  is  ready  and 
thorough  ;  the  Harvard,  exact  and  full ;  the  Amherst, 
patient  and  earnest ;  the  Williams,  well-rounded  and 
well-balanced ;  the  Dartmouth,  independent ;  the 
Middlebury,  careful  and  discriminating  ;  and  the  Mich- 
igan, direct  and  clear.  Positiveness  of  conviction  and 
readiness  in  reaching  conclusions  are  in  general  fos- 
tered more  by  the  best  western,  and  the  critical  habit 
of  mind  more  by  the  eastern,  colleges.  Yet  these 
characteristics  are  very  general,  and  cannot  be  pressed 
with  close  exactness. 

It  is  also  usually  recognized  that  each  college  has 


INSTRUCTION. 


25 


one  or  more  departments  in  which  its  instruction  ex- 
cels. At  Yale,  students  and  graduates  regard  the  in- 
struction in  international  law  and  history,  Greek, 
political  economy,  and  in  several  branches  of  science  as 
of  eminent  excellence.  At  Amherst,  that  given  in 
philosophy  and  advanced  Greek ;  at  Williams  and 
Oberlin,  that  in  philosophy  ;  at  Michigan  University, 
that  in  mathematics,  English  literature,  and  history ; 
and  at  Harvard,  that  provided  in  philosophy,  science, 
Greek,  French,  and  the  Fine  Arts  is  generally  ac- 
knowledged to  be  of  unusual  worth.  But  the  value 
of  a  department  of  study  to  the  student  depends  to  a 
great  degree  upon  his  aptitude  for  it ;  and,  therefore, 
most  diverse  judgments  may  be  formed  regarding  its 
excellence.  This  value  is  often  precisely  the  op- 
posite of  the  estimate  of  the  general  public  respecting 
it.  For  it  is  as  original  thinkers  and  authors  that  the 
majority  of  college  professors  attain  a  reputation; 
but  the  qualities  that  fit  one  for  pursuing  original  in- 
vestigations, or  for  elaborating  a  philosophical  system, 
may  unfit  him  for  the  patient  and  painstaking  work 
of  the  teacher's  desk.  It  is,  therefore,  oftentimes  true 
that  a  great  scholar,  of  national  reputation,  is  only  an 
indifferent  teacher. 


26  AMERICAN  COLLEGES. 


CHAPTER  II. 

EXPENSES   AND   PECUNIARY   AID. 

The  expenses  of  college  men  of  similar  tastes  and 
equal  wealth  are  often  of  the  most  diverse  amounts. 
The  annual  expenditure  of  two  students,  occupying 
the  same  room,  sitting  at  the  same  club  table,  and 
economizing  with  great  care,  may  differ  by  ^50  or 
;^ioo;andthe  expenditure  of  two  wealthy  students, 
of  like  tastes  and  surroundings,  usually  varies  by  any 
amount  from  ^200  to  $800.  It  is,  therefore,  in  the 
nature  of  the  case,  impossible  for  one  writer's  esti- 
mates of  the  expenses  of  the  students  in  the  different 
colleges,  precisely  to  correspond  with  the  estimates  of 
other  writers.  But  the  labor  and  care  bestowed  upon 
the  following  averages  allow  the  assurance  that  they 
are  as  accurate  as  their  essentially  indefinite  nature 
permits. 

The  extremes  of    the  total   annual   expenses  of 


EXPENSES  AND  PECUNIARY  AID.  27 

Students  at  Harvard,  which  may  be  considered  the 
representative  of  city  colleges, —  like  Yale,  and  the 
colleges  in  the  city  of  New  York, — are  about  ^450 
and  ;^3,ooo.  But  the  poor,  economical  student,  who 
stints  himself  to  ^450,  lives  in  narrow  quarters  and 
eats  the  cheapest  food  ;  and  the  rich  student,  spending 
;^3,ooo,  lives  as  luxuriously  as  the  wealthiest  New 
York  or  Boston  families.  But  these  amounts  are 
extremes;  more  poor  students  spend  $SS^  or  $600 
than  $4^0 ;  the  expenses  of  the  majority  of  wealthy 
students  do  not  exceed  ^2,500,  and  there  are  only 
half  a  do^n  among  the  eight  hundred  who  succeed  in 
consuming  ^3,000.  The  poor  student  pays  for  tuition 
;^I50,  as  does  the  rich  ;  for  room-rent,  with  chum, 
^22 ;  for  board  at  the  Memorial  Hall  Club,  in  which 
are  many  of  the  rich,  as  well  as  all  of  the  poor  stu- 
dents, ^152  ($4  for  38  weeks).  The  cost  of  his  coal 
and  gas  is  about  ^30,  and  of  his  text-books  not  less 
than  ;^20.  These  five  items  amount  to  ^374,  without 
including  either  clothes,  washing,  or  travelling  ex- 
penses. He  provides  furniture  for  his  room,  which 
(a  chum  bearing  half  the  expense)  costs  about  ^50 ; 
but  a  room  furnished  at  the  beginning  of  the  Fresh- 
man year  requires  no  special  refurnishing  afterward. 
The  total  annual  expenses,  therefore,  of  a  Harvard 
student,  of  the  most  rigorous  economy,  cannot  be  less 
than  ^425,  and  probably  will  amount  to  ^500. 


28  AMERICAN  COLLEGES. 

The  expenses  of  a  wealthy  Harvard  student  may  be 
thus  estimated:  For  tuition,  ;^I50;  for  room-rent, 
which  is  $i6o higher  than  at  any  other  college,  $^QO, — 
but  a  room  renting  for  this  sum  is  one  of  the  best  of  col- 
lege rooms  in  America ;  for  board,  at  ;^8  a  week,  ^304 ; 
for  attending  theaters,  concerts,  suppers,  ;^500, — the 
largest  item  in  the  expenses  of  many  a  Harvard  man  ; 
for  society  fees  and  subscriptions,  ;^400  (the  initiation 
fee  to  one  club,  the  Porcellian,  is  $500) ;  for  private  ser- 
vant,— a  luxury  which  about  half  the  students  enjoy, 
— $30;  for  horses,  ^150;  for  coal  and  gas,  ^75;  and 
for  books,  $100.  This  total  amount  of  $2,000  in- 
cludes, however,  the  cost  of  neither  clothes,  washing, 
travelling  expenses,  nor  furniture.  The  cost  of  fur- 
nishing a  college  room  elegantly  is  not  less  than  1^500, 
and  may  amount  to  ;^  1,000.  The  annual  expenses, 
therefore,  of  the  average  wealthy  student  at  Harvard 
amount  to  ^2,500.  A  few  wealthy  students  spend 
more,  many  less ;  the  limit  on  the  one  side  being 
^2,500  or  ^3,000,  and  on  the  other  ;^  1,000  or  ;^  1,500. 

What  is  true  of  expenses  at  Harvard  applies 
mutatis  mutandis,  and  without  the  mutattda  being 
considerable,  to  Yale  and  other  large  city  colleges. 
The  most  of  the  necessary  expenses,  however,  are  less 
at  Yale  than  at  Harvard.  The  extremes  of  room-rent 
are  $2^  and  $140,  and  tuition  is  1^140.  The  poor 
student  can,  therefore,  pass  a  year  at  Yale  for  from 


EXPENSES  AND  PECUNIARY  AID,  29 

$50  to  ^100  less  than  at  Harvard.  To  the  wealthy 
student,  moreover,  New  Haven  does  not  present  as 
favorable  opportunities  for  spending  money  in  attend- 
ing places  of  amusement  as  Boston  ;  but  the  societies 
at  Yale  are  more  expensive  than  the  Harvard  societies. 
To  the  wealthy  student,  therefore,  and  the  student  of 
average  means,  the  expenses  of  four  years  at  Yale 
do  not  differ  essentially  from  the  expenses  of  four 
years  at  Harvard. 

But  if  these  large  colleges  have  been  charged,  as 
they  have  been,  with  being  the  "  colleges  of  rich  men's 
sons,"  their  aid  given  to  indigent  students  is  very 
generous.  Yale  has  some  thirty-two  scholarships, 
yielding  annually  sums  varying  from  $46  to  §120,  with 
an  average  of  §60.  The  basis  of  their  bestowal  is — 
first,  the  poverty,  and,  secondly,  the  scholarship  of 
the  recipient.  She  also  distributes,  as  do  many  col- 
leges, a  considerajDle  amount  among  her  students  who 
intend  to  be  ministers.  She  annually  devotes  not 
less  than  $15,000  to  the  aid  of  this  class,  and  of  other 
needy  students.  Harvard  has  one  hundred  and 
eighteen  scholarships,  whose  annual  incomes  vary 
from  $40  to  S3  50  ;  their  total  annual  income  is  about 
$28,000,  and,  therefore,  the  average  income  of  each 
scholarship  does  not  vary  far  from  $235.  The 
basis  of  their  assignment  is — first,  scholarship,  and 
secondly,  character  and  poverty.  A  rich  stu- 
dent, whose  rank  is  high,  does  not  care  to  receive 


30 


AMERICAN  COLLEGES. 


one ;  and  a  poor  student,  whose  rank  is  low,  cannot 
Twenty-nine  scholarships  are  thus  annually  distrib- 
uted among  the  high-ranking,  indigent  students  of 
each  class.  The  highest  scholars  receive  the  largest 
scholarships,  and  the  smallest  scholarship  is  usually 
received  by  one  who  holds  the  fiftieth  place  in  a  class 
of  a  hundred  and  fifty.  Besides  scholarships,  she 
annually  either  gives  or  lends  to  indigent  students 
^3j500.  She  is  also  so  strongly  buttressed  by  her 
Thayers,  Lowells,  and  other  wealthy  friends,  that  she 
ventures  to  say  in  her  annual  catalogue  that  "  good 
scholars  of  high  character,  but  slender  means,  are 
seldom  or  never  obliged  to  leave  college  for  want  of 
money." 

It  is  a  well-known  fact  that  the  expenses  of  students 
at  country  colleges  are  lighter  than  at  city  colleges. 
The  reasons  of  the  fact  are  the  familiar  reasons  that 
indicate  that  a  family  can  live  more  cheaply  in  the 
country  than  in  the  city.  Not  only  are  the  neces- 
saries of  board,  rent,  clothing,  fuel,  and  tuition  cheaper, 
but  also  the  temptations  to  spend  money  in  concerts, 
theatres,  suppers,  and  in  every  species  of  pleasant  ex- 
travagance, are  fewer.  These  et  ceterUy  which  form 
so  large  an  item  in  the  annual  budget  of  a  Harvard  or 
Yale  man,  are  trifles  in  the  cash-account  of  an  Am 
herst  or  Dartmouth  student.  A  poor  student  at  Am- 
herst— which  may  be  regarded  as  the  type  of  large 


EXPENSES  AND  PECUNIARY  AID. 


31 


country,  as  Harvard  is  of  large  city,  colleges — spends 
annually  about  ^350,  and  the  rich  student  about 
$  1 ,000.  Tuition  is  the  same  for  both, — $  1 00 ;  but  the 
poor  student  probably  has  a  room  whose  rent,  with  a 
chum,  is  only  $iZ\  and  the  rich  student,  one  whose 
rent,  without  a  chum,  is  ^125.  The  poor  student 
boards  in  a  club  at  ;^3  a  week  ;  and  the  rich,  in  a  fam- 
ily at  %6.  The  former  limits  his  expenses  for  books 
to  the  cost  of  his  necessary  text-books, — ^15;  the 
latter,  if  he  be  a  man  of  taste,  expends  in  this  way 
j^ioo.  $\%  buys  the  coal  and  lights  of  the  one,  $10 
those  of  the  other.  The  one  expends  in  society  taxes 
and  subscriptions  ^15  ;  the  other,  ten  times  that  sum. 
The  poor  student  probably  spends  nothing  for  either 
horses,  concerts,  theatres  or  suppers  ;  the  rich,  ^150. 
The  annual  expenses,  therefore,  of  a  student  of  the 
most  rigorous  economy  at  Amherst,  or  at  colleges  of 
the  same  character,  are  about  $1^0,  being  from  $^0 
to  ^100  less  than  at  Yale,  and  from  ^100  to  ;^  150  less 
than  at  Harvard  ;  and  the  expenses  of  a  rich  Amherst 
student,  varying  from  ;^ 800  to  ^1000  or  ^i  100,  are 
from  1^500  to  $2,QQO  less  than  those  of  a  wealthy  Yale 
or  Harvard  man.  The  man  of  average  means — the 
most  frequent  type  of  the  college  student — spends 
;^500  at  Amherst,  and  at  Yale  or  Harvard,  ;^8c)0. 

If  the  expenses  of  their  students  are  less,  so  also 
the  pecuniary  aid  given  by  Amherst  and  like  colleges 


32  AMERICAN  COLLEGES. 

is,  in  all  cases,  less  than  that  given  by  Harvard,  and, 
in  many  cases,  less  than  that  given  by  Yale.  Am- 
herst and  Dartmouth  are  exceptionally  generous. 
The  former  has  sixty-three  scholarships,  with  an  aver- 
age annual  income  of  $86 ;  and  the  latter,  one  hun- 
dred, of  S70  each.  -  Amherst,  like  Yale,  distributes 
the  income  of  $75,000  among  students  who  are  can- 
didates for  the  ministry. 

In  all  colleges,  besides  the  aid  derived  from 
scholarships  and  beneficiary  funds,  students  assist 
themselves  by  manual  labor,  teaching,  and  tutoring. 
Manual  labor  offers  the  inducement  of  exercise  as  well 
as  of  money,  and  at  Cornell  and  western  colleges, 
considerable  of  it  is  done.  Teaching  was  more  in 
vogue  seventy-five  years  ago  than  at  present.  A  few 
Bowdoin  and  Dartmouth  students  still  spend  their 
winters  in  those  "  ruby  founts  of  knowledge," — coun- 
try school-houses, — but  the  practice  is  .discouraged  by 
all  college  faculties.  In  Yale,  and  especially  in  Har- 
vard, a  good  deal  of  tutoring,  or  coaching,  is  done ; 
and,  at  $2  an  hour,  it  is^the  most  remunerative  kind  of 
work.  A  recent  graduate  of  Harvard  carried  himself 
and  his  brother  through  college  with  money  earned 
in  this  way. 

Many  interesting  and  striking  comparisons  between 
the  character  of  an  education  obtained  at  our  different 
colleges,  and  its  cost,  are  suggested  by  the  annexed 


EXPENSES  AND  PECUNIARY  AID.  33 

tables.  It  is  as  true  in  regard  to  education  as  in  re- 
gard to  commodities,  that  what  costs  most  is  best. 
Expenses  at  Yale  and  Harvard,  which  are  by  many  con 
sidered  the  best,  as  they  are  the  largest  of  our  colleges, 
are  by  far  the  highest.  The  large  country  colleges 
in  the  east,  as  Princeton,  Dartmouth,  Amherst,  follow 
Harvard  and  Yale  in  respect  to  expenses  ;  and  are,  in 
turn,  followed  by  small  country  colleges,  as  Hamilton. 
Expenses  at  large  western  colleges,  as  Michigan  and 
North-western  Universities,  are  about  the  same  as  at 
small  country  colleges  in  the  east.  Small  western 
colleges,  represented  by  Beloit  and  Illinois,  graduate 
their  students  at  the  least  expense.  The  Yale  or 
Harvard  student  of  average  means,  spends  nearly  twice 
what  the  economical  student  of  the  college  spends, 
and  one-half  or  one-third  of  what  the  wealthy  student 
spends.  The  expenses  of  the  average  Amherst  or 
Dartmouth  man  are  nearly  double  those  of  his  poor, 
and  one-half  those  of  his  rich,  brother ;  and  the  same 
proportional  expenditure  obtains  at  Michigan  and 
North-western  Universities.  The  same  ratio  holds 
good  at  small  western  colleges  also.  The  economical 
student  is  graduated  at  Beloit,  for  ^800 ;  at  Dart- 
mouth, for  ^i,2CX) ;  at  Harvard,  for  ^1,800  ;  the  student 
of  average  means  for,  respectively,  ^1,200,  ^2,cxx),  and 
and  $l,2QQ  ;  the  wealthy  student  for  ^2,000,  ;^3,6oo, 
and  any  amount  from  ^6,000  to  ^12,000.     The  ex- 


34 


AMERICAN  COLLEGES. 


penses  of  the  poor  student  at  Harvard  are  almost 
equal  to  those  of  the  rich  student  at  Beloit,  or  to  those 
of  the  average  student  at  Dartmouth  ;  and  the  ex- 
penses of  the  average  Harvard  student  are  as  high  as 
those  of  the  rich  Dartmouth  student.  What  one 
wealthy  man  at  Yale  or  Harvard  spends  would  educate 
from  ten  to  twenty  poor  men  at  Beloit  or  Illinois,  or 
from  six  to  twelve  poor  men  at  Dartmouth. 

The  pecuniary  aid  given  by  colleges  varies  in 
amount  as  much  as  the  expenses.  As  a  rule,  subject, 
however,  to  variations,  those  colleges  whose  students 
spend  the  most,  offer  the  most  aid,  as  Harvard ;  and 
those  whose  students  spend  the  least,  offer  the  least 
aid,  as  most  western  colleges.  The  basis  of  the  be- 
stowal of  aid  is  generally  threefold, — scholarship,  need, 
and  character.  Many  colleges,  however,  offer  special 
pecuniary  privileges  to  students  who  intend  to  be 
ministers. 

Expenses  at  Vassar,  the  only  college  exclusively  for 
women  given  in  the  following  table,  are  about  the  same 
as  expenses  at  large  country  colleges  in  the  east.  The 
economical  Vassar  woman  spends,  however,  more  than 
her  economical  brother  at  Cornell  or  Union  ;  but,  if 
she  is  wealthy  or  of  average  means,  her  expenses  are 
probably  less  than  those  of  her  brother  of  the  same 
pecuniary  ability.  The  distinctions  of  wealth  are  not 
so  marked  at  Vassar  as  at  most  colleges  for  men,  and 


EXPENSES  AND  PECUNIARY  AID. 


35 


there  are  fewer  temptations  for  spending  money.  The 
students  at  Wellesley  and  at  Smith  college  are,  as 
a  class,  less  wealthy  than  the  Vassar  students,  and 
their  expenses  are  correspondingly  lighter  ;  at  the 
former  institution  the  annual  charge  for  room,  board, 
and  tuition  is  only  $250,  and  at  the  latter  ;^350. 

It  may  be  added  that  expenses  at  Oxford  and  Cam- 
bridge do  not  essentially  differ  from  expenses  at  Har- 
vard and  Yale.  An  Oxford  student  who  spends  ^750 
is  called  economical,  and  one  who  spends  double  this 
sum  is  not  charged  with  extravagance.  But  all 
"  reading  "  (hard-working)  meA  at  these  English  uni- 
versities can  obtain  more  aid  than  students  at  Amer- 
ican colleges.  Scholarships  average  from  ^200  to 
;^50o,  and  fellowships  from  ;^  1,000  to  ^2,000.  In  the 
German  universities,  nearly  every  item  of  expense  is 
cheaper  than  in  either  the  best  American  colleges  or 
the  English  universities.  The  aid  given  to  indigent 
students  is  also  less ;  the  principal  part  of  which  is 
the  privilege  to  attend  the  lectures  on  credit,  payment 
being  postponed  till  the  beneficiary  has  entered  either 
the  public  service,  or  one  of  the  learned  professions. 

The  first  set  of  columns  in  the  following  table  gives 
the  extreme  and  the  average  price  of  the  annual  rent 
of  rooms  in  twenty-five  American  colleges ;  the 
second,  the  extreme  and  the  average  price  of  board  ; 
the   third,  the  tuition ;  and  the  fourth  gives  the  ex* 


36 


AMERICAN  COLLEGES. 


treme  and  average  amounts  of  the  total  annual  ex- 
penses : 


College. 


Room-rent 
Annual. 


Board, 
Weekly. 


Amherst $18 — 125 —  45  $3.00—6.00—4.00 

Beloit 10 —  20—  15  1.50—3.50 — 2.50 

Boston  University 60—120—  80  3.00—8.00—4.00 

Bowdoin 90 —  25  2.75 — 4.00 — 3.00 

Brown 20—155—50  3.00—5.00 — 3.75 

Un.  of  California 30 — 100 —  50  4.00 — 9.00 — 5.00 

Columbia 300 — 450*           

Cornell,  about 45  2.50 — 6.00 — 4  co 

Dartmouth 20 —  50 —  30  2.50 — 4.00 

Hamilton 6 —  36—  20  3.00—5.00—4.00 

Harvard  22 — 300 — 125  4.00 — 8.00 — 6.00 

Haverford  (Friends') 4.50 

Illinois '. 14 —  50 —  28  2.50 — 4.0c — 3.50 

Michigan  Un 3°~~  80 —  40  1.50 — 5.00—3.00 

North-western  Un 10 —  50 —  20  1.80 — 6.00 — 2.50 

Oberlin 9 —  36  1 .75 — 4.00 — 3.00 

Princeton 27—  86 —  50  3.25—7.00—5.00 

Trinity 40 — 100 —  54  3.00 — 6.00 — 5.00 

Tufts 15 — 100 —  50  3.50 

Union i2ot  3.00 — 5.00 

Un.  of  Virginia 15 —  30  2.25 — 4.50 — 3.00 

Wesleyan  Un 12 —  36 —  24  2.75 — 5.00 — 3.50 

Williams 15 —  60 —  30  3.00 — 6.00—4.00 

Yale 25 — 140 — 50  4.00 — 8.00 — 6.00 

Vassar Room  and  Board,  S300    . 


11 

.t;  c 
3  c 

$100 

36 

100 

75 

100 


Total  Ex- 
penses, 
Annual. 


200 
75 
9.3 

150 


$350—1 
200 — 
300—1 
300— 

35°— !• 
250 — I 
600 — 3 
300 — I 
300— 
350— 
450—3 


45 

9 

120 

90 


75 
75 
90 
140 
100 


200 — 

17s— 

250— 

250 — 

350—1 

300 — I 

350—1 

300— 

300 — 

300—^1 

300—1 

400—3 

500 — I 


,000 — 500 
500—300 
,000 — 500 
800 — 500 
000  500 
,200 — 500 
,000 — 800 
100 — 500 
900—500 
800—450 
,000 — 800 

425 

500 — 300 
700 — 370 
600—350 
750—350 

,2CO — 600 

i000 — 500 

,000—550 
800 — 500 
900 — 500 
,000 — 5C0 
|000 — 500 
,000 — 800 
,000 — 600 


*  Board  and  room. 


t  Room-rent  and  tuition. 


The  most  important  induction  which  this  table 
affords  is,  that  at  thelargemajority  of  our  colleges  an 
annual  expenditure  of  $500  is  sufficient  to  allow  the 


EXPENSES  AND  PECUNIARY  AID. 


37 


Student  to  avail  himself  of  the  full  advantages  of  the 
education  which  they  afford.  At  Columbia,  Yale, 
Harvard,  ^700  or  $Zqo  are  required  ;  but  at  Princeton, 
Williams,  Amherst,  Dartmouth,  and  the  large  majority 
of  the  best  eastern  colleges  $500  supports  the 
student  with  comfort  and  respectability.  At  the  best 
of  the  western  colleges  ^300  or  ;^350  is  equivalent  to 
$500,  as  expended  in  the  best  of  the  Eastern,  with  per- 
haps the  exception  of  Harvard  and  Yale. 

The  pecuniary  aid  that  is  given  to  students  in  many 
of  the  colleges  is  considerable,  and  its  amount,  except- 
ing the  present  financial  depression,  increases  each 
year.  In  the  case  of  a  few  of  the  following  colleges, 
several  of  their  scholarships  are  not  at  present  avail- 
able, as  at  Harvard  and  Amherst ;  but  in  the  case  of 
others,  the  amount  of  the  pecuniary  aid  is  slightly 
larger  than  is  indicated.  For  this  amount  annually 
varies  with  the  liberality  of  the  friends  of  the  college 
and  with  the  income  of  the  college  funds. 

AMOUNT  OF  AID  FOR  STUDENTS. 

Amherst. — 63  scholarships  of  $86 ;  income  of  $80,000 

to  candidates  for  ministry. 
Beloit. — Tuition  free  to  candidates  for  ministry,  and 

to  a  few  others ;  several  scholarships. 
Boston  University. — 65  scholarships  of  $100. 


38  AMERICAN  COLLEGES, 

Bowdoin. — 27  scholarships,  average  ^60;  also,  a  bene- 
ficiary fund  of  ^550. 
Brown. — 100   scholarships   average   ;^8o;  income   of 

;^8,ooo  ;  and  deduction  on  tuition  fee. 
University  of  California. — No  aid,  but  tuition  is  free 

to  State  students. 
Columbia. — 40  scholarships,  and  tuition  free  to  needy 

students. 
Cornell. — 128  scholarships,  and  opportunities  for  self 

support. 
Dartmouth. — 100  scholarships  average  $70. 
Hamilton. — 27  scholarships  average  $80 ;  also,  $3,000. 
Harvard. — 1 18  scholarships  average  $235;  also,  $4,500. 
Haverford  (Friends').  —  "Several"   scholarships   of 

$225. 
Illinois. — 7  scholarships  of  $36. 
Michigan    University   has   neither  scholarships  nor 

beneficiary  funds. 
North-western. — Small  amounts  loaned  to  candidates 

for  ministry. 
Oberlin. — 102  scholarships  each  usually  equal  to  the 

tuition  ;  income  of  $7,000. 
Princeton.—"  Limited  "  number  scholarships  of  $75  ; 

to  candidates  for  Presbyterian  ministry,  $30. 
Trinity. — Scholarships  amounting  to  about  $4,000. 
Tufts. — 27  scholarships  average  $75  ;  tuition  free  to 

ten  students ;  also,  gratuities. 


EXPENSES  AND  PECUNIARY  AID. 


39 


Union. — Numerous  scholarships  averaging  ^loo. 

University  of  Virginia. — Tuition  free  to  candidates 
for  ministry  and  to  very  needy  students. 

Wesleyan  University.  —  A  "  limited "  number  of 
scholarships  of  $75.    41  scholarships  of  about  $1 50. 

Williams. — $9,000  is  divided  among  needy  students. 

Yale. — 32  scholarships  of  860;  $15,000,  for  candi- 
dates for  ministry  especially. 

Vassar. — Income  of  at  least  $100,000;  4  scholar- 
ships. 


40  AMERICAN  COLLEGES. 


CHAPTER  III. 

MORALS. 

As  the  custom  of  drinking  intoxicating  liquors  is 
less  prevalent  in  the  community  to-day  than  a  century 
or  a  half  century  ago,  so  among  college  men  the  popu- 
larity of  tippling  habits  has  steadily  decreased  in  the 
course  of  the  last  hundred  years.  During  the 
eighteenth  century,  at  Yale  College,  the  evils  of  in- 
temperance were  a  constant  source  of  anxiety  to  its 
officers,  and  numerous  were  the  resolves  of  its  Cor- 
poration intended  to  effect  their  decrease.  In  1737 
the  Corporation  observed  that  on  "  Commencement  oc- 
casions there  is  a  great  expense  in  spirituous  distilled 
liquors  in  college  which  is  justly  offensive,"  and 
adopted  measures  to  lessen  the  consumption  of  the 
costly-  beverages.  Nine  years  later  it  passed  a  law, 
whose  prohibitory  character  may  have  nursed  a  col- 
lege rebellion,  that  "  the  Butler  shall  not  keep  or  sell  in 


MORALS.  41 

the  Buttery  more  than  twelve  barrells  of  strong  beer  in 
one  year."  The  members  of  the  graduating  class  at 
the  Commencement  season,  however,  were  allowed 
exceptional  privileges.  Each  was  permitted  to  buy 
''  one  quart  of  wine  and  one  pint  of  rum,"  though  it 
is  expressly  stated  he  can  have  no  other  "  kind  of 
strong  drink  "  in  his  "  chamber."  *  At  the  same 
period  of  1760  and  1761,  a  similar  laxity  of  college 
law  and  sentiment  prevailed  at  Harvard  regarding 
the  use  of  liquor.  At  Bowdoin,  too,  at  the  beginning 
of  the  present  century  "  in  each  college  room  there 
was  a  sideboard  sparkling  with  wines  and  stronger 
stimulants."  And  on  Commencement  days  its  gradu- 
ates, as  those  of  other  colleges,  entertained  their 
friends  with  "  rum,  gin,  brandy,  wine,"  etc.f 

But  the  college-drinking  cus'toms  of  fifty  and  a 
hundred  years  ago  are  now  thoroughly  changed. 
Yale  College  no  longer  buys  each  year  "  twelve  barrels 
of  strong  beer "  for  the  use  of  its  students.  The 
Harvard  student  entertains  his  friends  with  punch  only 
in  the  face  of  impending  suspension.  And  the  Bow- 
doin man,  like  all  the  dwellers  in  the  Maine-law 
State,  is  compelled  to  buy  his  brandy  at  the  "  town 

*  Professor  Fisher's  Centennial  Discourse  on  the  History 
of  the  Church  of  Christ  in  Yale  College.     Appendix. 

t  Prof.  E.  C.  Smyth's  Three  Discourses  upon  the  Religious 
History  of  Bowdoin  College,  p.  8,  and  Appendix. 


42  AMERICA      COLLEGES, 

agency,"  and  under  this  limitation  can  secure  it 
only  for  medicinal  purposes.  A  similar  elevation  of 
custom  and  sentiment  regarding  intemperance  has. 
taken  place  in  all  the  older  colleges,  as  it  has  in  the 
general  community. 

The  number  of  the  students  in  New  England  col- 
leges who  are  addicted  to  the  use  of  intoxicating 
liquors  to  a  greater  or  less  degree  varies,  it  is  esti- 
mated from  carefully  prepared  statistics,  from  about 
one-eighth  to  about  three-fifths.  It  is  usually  acknowl- 
edged that  intemperance  is  more  prevalent  at  large 
than  at  small  colleges ;  and  that  among  eastern  col- 
leges as  small  a  proportion  of  Amherst  and  Williams 
men  are  addicted  to  drink  as  at  any  New  England 
college.  At  certain  western  colleges,  however,  a  case 
of  drunkenness  is  seldom  known  to  occur.  This  is 
true  with  regard  to  Oberlin,  one  of  whose  rules  is,  as 
it  is  also  the  rule  of  other  colleges  both  east  and 
west,  summarily  to  expel  the  student  guilty  of  intox- 
ication. At  the  University  of  Michigan,  with  five 
hundred  students  in  the  college,  and  double  this  num- 
ber in  the  university,  "  cases  of  drunkenness,"  one  of 
its  professors  writes  me,  "  are  exceedingly  rare." 

College  opinion  regarding  the  immorality  of  in- 
temperance varies  to  as  great  a  degree  as  the  propor- 
tion of  men  in  different  institutions  who  are  addicted 
to  the  habit.     In  most  country  colleges  of  the  east, 


MORALS. 


43 


where  the  temptations  to  indulgence  are  the  fewest, 
intemperance  is  reprobated  as  a  vice  and  a  crime.  In- 
flammation of  the  eyes,  except  as  occasioned  by  the 
midnight  study  of  Greek,  is  regarded  as  a  "  scarlet 
letter  "  of  disgrace.  The  intemperate  student  is  not 
only  shunned  by  his  classmates,  but  if,  "  while  the  fit 
is  on  him,"  he  chance  to  reel  before  a  professor's 
eyes,  he  is  at  once  compelled  to  drink  the  hemlock  of 
summary  dismission.  In  western  colleges  the  case 
is  similar.  Though  among  western  students  mere 
drinking  is  not  so  harshly  frowned  upon  as  in  some  of 
the  Puritan  colleges  of  the  east,  yet  drunkenness  is 
as  severely  anathematized  in  the  University  of  Wiscon- 
sin as  in  the  University  of  Vermont.  But  among  the 
students  of  our  largest  and  in  many  respects  best  col- 
leges of  the  east,  there  is  a  tendency,  which  exists  in 
spite  of  all  the  efforts  of  the  governing  boards  to 
crush  it  out,  to  look  upon  drunkenness  as  a  rather 
necessary  escapade  of  hot-blooded  youth.  It  is  seldom 
that  in  these  colleges  indulgences  in  liquor  costs  the 
tippler  the  loss  of  either  a  friend  or  an  acquaintance. 
The  college  officers,  however,  are  inclined  to  deal 
severely  with  him,  and  either  the  disgrace  of  a  repri- 
mand or  a  temporary  suspension  is  the  penalty  he 
usually  pays  for  his  offense. 

In  regard  to  that  vice  from  which  the  college,  as 
well  as  the  community,  suffers  irreparable  injury,  it  is 


44 


AMERICAN  COLLEGES. 


impossible  to  write  with  a  high  degree  of  definiteness. 
It  is  very  gratifying  to  say  that  a  much  smaller  pro- 
portion of  college  men  are  addicted  to  it  than  to 
drunkenness  ;  but  it  is  very  humiliating  to  be  obliged 
to  confess  that,  as  far  as  can  be  judged,  its  prevalence 
has  vastly  increased  within  the  last  score  of  years.  A 
condemnation,  on  the  part  of  the  students,  is  meted 
out  against  the  former  vice  similar  to  that  which  is 
felt  regarding  intemperance,  but  as  a  rule  far  more 
severe  and  more  just.  College  faculties,  also,  mani- 
fest much  greater  rigor  in  dealing  with  it  than  with 
drunkenness. 

The  causes  of  the  difference  in  the  moral  condi- 
tion of  the  students  of  most  large  colleges,  the -majority 
of  which  are  located  in  or  near  cities,  and  that  of  the 
students  of  small  colleges  situated  in  the  country,  are 
numerous  and  diverse.  They  are  found  to  exist  i)Oth 
in  the  pre-college  training  of  the  students,  and  in  the 
character  and  surroundings  of  the  colleges. 

The  chief  consideration  relating  to  the  pre-college 
influence  of  the  students  at  large  city  colleges,  is  the 
fact  that  the  vast  majority  of  them  were  brought  up 
and  reside  in  cities.  About  one-half  of  the  Harvard 
men,  for  example,  reside  in  Boston  (within  a  radius 
of  eight  miles  of  Beacon  Hill),  New  York  city  and 
Brooklyn.  The  homes  of  a  large  part  of  the  other 
half  are  in  cities  of  the  size  of  Cleveland  or  Worcester, 


MORALS.  45 

Only  a  small  proportion  of  the  whole  number,  there- 
fore, reside  in  country  towns.  Nearly  one-half  of  the 
Yale  students,  also,  live  in  cities  of  at  least  fifty 
thousand  population ;  and  one-fifth  have  homes  in 
New  York  city  and  Brooklyn.  But  in  country  col- 
leges the  large  majority  of  the  students  were  born, 
bred,  and  live  "  sub  tegmine  fagi " — under  the  vine 
and  fig-tree.  Three-fifths  of  the  Bowdoin  men  reside 
in  the  country  towns  of  Maine.  Williams  seldom  has 
more  than  three  or  four  Boston  or  New  York  men  in 
a  class.  Illinois  college,  according  to  a  recent  cata- 
logue, has  not  a  single  student  from  Chicago.  At 
Michigan  University,  three-fifths  of  the  students  re- 
side in  the  State,  and  the  State  contains  only  one 
large  city.  Dartmouth,  Amherst,  Middlebury,  Be- 
loit,  in  fact  all  country  colleges,  draw  the  majority  of 
their  students  from  the  country. 

The  fact  that  so  large  a  proportion  of  the  students 
at  certain  of  our  colleges  are  city-bred,  affects  the 
question  of  their  morality  in  various  ways.  Not  a  few 
of  these  students  are  immoral  on  their  entering  col- 
lege. The  pre-college  influences,  outside  of  their  own 
homes,  have  for  many  of  them  been  excellent  prepar- 
atory schools  for  Sophomoric  dissipation.  Even  the 
home  influences,  in  not  a  few  cases,  have  failed  to  out- 
weigh the  evil  attractions  of  the  gambling  table  and  its 
accessories.     At  one  of  our  large  colleges,  it  is  esti- 


46  AMERICAN  COLLEGES. 

mated  that  six-sevenths  of  the  immoral  men  reside  in 
cities  of  at  least  twenty-five  thousand  inhabitants. 
But  it  is  seldom,  though  sometimes  the  case,  that  a 
student  from  the  country,  when  he  enters  a  country 
college,  is  immoral.  The  vicious  class  in  the  country 
towns  is  not  the  student  class.  Not  only  the  purity 
of  the  student's  home  but  the  associations  of  his  coun- 
try life  have  been  elevating.  Vice  in  its  various  forms 
is  to  his  eyes  "  a  painted  ship  on  a  painted  ocean." 
The  Freshman,  therefore,  at  large  city  colleges,  is 
usually  more  disposed  to  dissoluteness  than  his  brother 
at  small  country  colleges. 

The  students  at  large  colleges  in  the  city  are 
wealthier.  As  the  city  is  wealthier  than  the  country, 
so  the  average  student  at  large  city  colleges  receives 
a  larger  income  than  the  average  student  at  the  coun- 
try college.  It  is  needless  to  say  that  money  is  not 
only  the  sine  qua  non  to  indulgence  in  Sophomoric 
peccadillos,  but  it  is  also  the  immediate  occasion  of 
dissipation.  A  wealthy  student  with  an  annual  allow- 
ance of  ^2,000  is  an  excellent  Faust  for  some  Mephis- 
topheles.  But  a  poor  student,  stinted  to  ^300  annu- 
ally, cannot  "  afford  "  to  be  immoral. 

"  Gold  were  as  good  as  twenty  orators, 
And  will,  no  doubt,  tempt  him  to  anything." 

There  are,  it  must  be  acknowledged,  vices  that  are 
as  cheap  as  dirt,  and  that  can  be  enjoyed  in  the  coun- 


MORALS, 


47 


tiy,  as  well  as  in  the  city,  college  for  the  merest  pit- 
tance. But,  as  a  rule,  cheap  vices  are  not  attractive 
to  the  college  man  of  dissolute  proclivities  ;  and,  there- 
fore, the  poor  student  is  not  so  subject  to  their  temp- 
tations as  is  his  wealthy  classmate. 

Our  large  colleges  are,  moreover,  from  the  fact 
that  they  are  large,  subject  to  vices  from  which  the 
small  colleges  are  inherently  free.  In  classes  of  one 
hundred  and  fifty  or  of  two  hundred  men,  immoral- 
ities do  not  stand  forth  in  so  bold  relief  as  in  classes 
of  twenty  or  fifty.  A  single  black  sheep  in  a  flock  of 
twenty  is  a  more  prominent  object  than  are  ten  in  a 
flock  of  two  hundred.  The  notoriety,  therefore,  sure 
to  follow  his  dissipation,  may  debar  a  student  at  a 
small  college  from  vice  ;  but  its  comparative  absence 
in  a  large  college  may  urge  the  student  into  dissolute 
habits. 

In  a  large  college,  once  more,  the  esprit  de  corps  is 
strong.  The  immoral  men  are  sufficiently  numerous 
to  form  a  ring  for  mutual  "  aid  and  comfort,"  and  they 
buckle  themselves  to  each  other  by  common  habits 
and  purposes.  But  the  two  or  three  men  of  evil  pro- 
pensities in  a  small  class  feel  nothing  of  that  assur- 
ance which  numbers  give.  In  their  loneliness  they 
are  more  inclined  to  find  cheer  in  their  Plato  than  in 
drinking 'from  the  flowing  bowl  of  punch. 

The  situation  of  colleges  in  and  near  large  cities 


48  AMERICAN  COLLEGES. 

presents  numerous  opportunities  for  vicious  indul- 
gences. If  Yale  were  located  at  Williamstown,  Harvard 
at  Hanover,  Columbia  at  Ithaca,  the  moral  character 
of  their  students  would  be  elevated  in  as  great  a  de- 
gree as  the  natural  scenery  of  their  localities  would  be 
increased  in  beauty.  Small  towns  like  Brunswick, 
Hanover,  Williamstown,  Amherst  and  Ann  Arbor, 
offer  few  opportunities  for  either  the  formation  or  in- 
dulgence of  evil  habits. 

But  a  consideration  of  far  greater  importance  than 
either  the  moral  condition  of  our  colleges  or  the  causes 
that  influence  college  men  into  dissolute  courses  is 
the  methods  by  which  this  moral  condition  may  be 
elevated  and  purified.  All  the  various  means  which 
tend  to  promote  moral  reformations  in  the  community 
tend  thereby  to  produce  corresponding  results  among 
college  students.  There  are,  however,  certain  methods 
whose  observance  would  especially  tend  to  root  out 
college  immoralities.  Most  of  the  methods  which  I 
venture  to  suggest  are  followed  to  a  greater  or  less 
extent  in  the  large  majority  of  the  colleges,  but  a 
stricter  enforcement  of  certain  of  them  could  not,  in 
any  college,  fail  to  be  of  the  highest  service  both  to 
the  college  and  the  community. 

First,  The  inquiry  regarding  the  morals  of  those 
applying  for  admission  should  be  more  critical.  It  is 
a  requirement  at  most,  if  not  all,  colleges  that  the  ap- 


MORALS. 


49 


plicant  present  a  certificate,  signed  by  his  teacher  or 
some  other  "  responsible  person,"  of  his  "  good  moral 
character."  But  this  certificate,  for  the  purpose  for 
which  it  is  designed,  may  not  be  worth  the  paper  on 
which  it  is  written ;  for  of  its  signers  the  college  often 
knows  nothing.  A  student,  therefore,  of  the  most 
depraved  tendencies  has  no  difficulty  in  making  his 
character  appear  to  his  college  examiners  as  white  as 
he  chooses.  I  know  a  case  in  which  a  graduate  of 
one  of  the  Phillips  academies,  of  most  dissolute  habits, 
presented  himself  for  admission  at  a  New  England 
college  with  a  certificate  signed  by  a  classmate  whose 
character  probably  was  hardly  superior  to  his  own. 
To  insure,  therefore,  the  certainty  of  excluding  im- 
moral men,  the  college  should  require  that  the  certifi- 
cate of.  the  applicant  be  signed  only  by  those 
of  whose  right  to  sign  it  is,  either  directly  or  in- 
directly, cognizant.  At  the  same  time  also,  many 
of  the  preparatory  schools  and  individuals,  as  pri- 
vate tutors  and  clergymen,  should  exercise  much 
greater  strictness  in  their  bestowal  of  certificates  of 
moral  character.  The  college  and  the  school  can 
thus  work  together  in  elevating  the  moral  tone  of 
their  students. 

Second.  The  college  officers  should  exercise  more 
strict  supervision  over  students  of  evil  tendencies.  A 
college  officer  should  not  only  have  a  room  in  each 

4 


50  AMERICAN  COLLEGES. 

college  dormitory,  as  is  now  the  custom,  but  he  should 
be  especially  alert  for  detecting  any  disorderly  prac- 
tices committed  by  the  men  under  his  care. 

Third.  Whenever  what  is  judged  to  be  sufficient 
evidence  is  offered  that  a  student  is  guilty  of  heinous 
offences,  he  should  be  summarily  expelled.  By  re- 
maining in  college  he  usually  takes  to  himself  seven 
others  worse  than  himself,  and  his  last  end,  including 
that  of  his  companions,  is  worse  than  his  first.  The 
summary  expulsion  of  half  a  dozen  men  from  cer- 
tain of  our  colleges  for  habitual  tippling  and  other 
vices,  would  to  a  large  degree  wipe  out  these  evils. 

Fourth.  Students  should  be,  as  any  citizen,  amen- 
able to  the  civil  law.  From  this  law  in  petty  offences 
custom  makes  them  substantially  free.  It  is  only  a 
short  time  since  that  a  police  officer  in  a  college  town 
endeavored  to  obtain  entrance  to  a  room  in  which  he 
knew  disorderly  practices  were  being  committed. 
Defied  by  the  students,  he  was  obliged  to  appeal  to  a 
college  professor.  The  students  at  one  of  our  colleges 
flatter  themselves  with  the  pleasant  fiction  that  a 
police  officer  has  no  right  to  venture  on  to  the  college 
campus  to  arrest  a  law-breaking  student.  There  is 
no  reason  why  the  municipal  law  should  not  touch 
the  disorderly  collegian  as  well  as  any  disorderly 
citizen.  The  proper  relation  of  the  college  student  to 
the  government  of  the  city  in  which  he  abides  is  well 


MORALS.  51 

stated  in  the  position  assumed  by  the  University  of 
Michigan.  This  University  holds,  that  its  "  students 
are  temporary  residents  of  the  city,  and,  like  all  other 
residents,  are  amenable  to  the  laws.  Whenever  guilty 
of  disorder  or  crime,  they  are  liable  to  arrest,  fine, 
and  imprisonment,  and  can  claim  no  peculiar  exemp- 
tion from  public  disgrace  and  legal  penalties." 

Fifth.  The  moral  condition  of  most  colleges  would 
be  greatly  elevated  by  more  intimate  association  of 
the  professors  and  the  students.  The  intimacy  of 
this  association  is  far  more  easily  gained  in  a  small 
than  a  large  college.  But  the  moral  influences  with 
which  every  college,  large  as  well  as  small,  desires  to 
surround  her  men,  would  be  vastly  augmented  by 
means  of  the  personal  association  of  instructors  and 
students.  The  precise  methods  that  may  be  adopted 
for  accomplishing  this  purpose  differ  in  different  in- 
stitutions, but  some  method  should  and  can  be  em- 
ployed in  every  college  by  which  the  professor  can 
directly  influence  the  moral  as  well  as  the  intellectual 
character  of  his  students. 

Sixth.  It  should  hardly  be  necessary  to  suggest 
that  the  moral  character  of  college  officers  ought 
to  be  worthy  of  the  highest  respect  of  the  men 
under  their  charge.  But  in  certain  of  our  colleges, 
students  are  willing  to  acknowledge  that  the  moral 
character  of  some  of  their  professors  neither  commands 


52  AMERICAN  COLLEGES. 

nor  deserves  their  esteem.  A  college  whose  professors 
are  known,  with  a  reasonable  degree  of  certainty,  to 
be  immoral  cannot  demand  moral  purity  of  its  Fresh- 
man. The  upright  character  of  the  professor  is  the 
first  condition  for  demanding  upright  character  in  the 
student. 

Seventh.  The  seventh  and  last  method  that  I  beg 
to  suggest  for  promoting  the  morality  of  college  life 
is  the  refusal  of  his  degree  to  any  student  of  thoroughly 
dissipated  habits.  If  it  is  true,  as  is  currently  reported, 
that  Harvard,  at  her  Conimencement  in  1877,  refused 
to  bestow  degrees  upon  certain  men  on  the  ground  of 
their  notorious  dissoluteness,  the  example  may  be  fol- 
lowed with  profit  by  other  colleges.  The  liability  to 
lose  that  bit  of  parchment,  for  gaining  which  he  is 
spending  four  years,  acts  as  a  fitting  restraint  upon 
the  immoral  inclinations  of  any  undergraduate. 

There  are,  however,  not  a  few  considerations  in 
regard  to  the  moral  welfare  of  our  colleges  which 
lighten  up  this  picture  that  may  appear  in  certain 
points  lamentably  dark. 

The  age  of  the  men  on  entering  college  is  now, 
and  has  been  during  the  century,  steadily  increasing. 
With  age  comes  that  self-control  and  that  conscious- 
ness of  responsibility  which  are  the  best  barriers  to 
dissoluteness.  At  Harvard  the  average  age  of  admis- 
sion is  now  about  eighteen  and  a  half  years,  and  during 


MORALS.  53 

the  last  score  of  years  the  average  has  risen  six 
months.  (President  EUot's  Report  for  1874-75).  To 
the  increased  maturity  of  the  undergraduates  may  be 
attributed  in  part  the  disfavor  with  which  hazing  is 
coming  to  be  regarded  by  students.  In  several  colleges 
this  puerile  and  inhuman  custom  is  obsolete,  and  in 
most  obsolescent. 

There  was  probably,  moreover,  never  a  time  in  the 
history  of  American  colleges  when  their  standard  of 
scholarship  was  so  high  as  it  is  at  present.  Students 
are  now  obliged  to  work  with  that  carefulness  and 
thoroughness  which  tend  to  wean  them  from  dissolute 
courses.  In  many  colleges  they  can  find  no  time  to 
be  immoral  ;  but  in  other  colleges  an  increase  of  the 
amount  of  the  work  would  be  of  use  in  restraining 
from  vicious  indulgences. 

The  moral  condition  of  American  colleges  is,  so 
far  as  the  writer's  knowledge  extends,  far  superior  to 
the  condition  of  the  English  University  of  Cambridge, 
and,  judged  by  Cambridge,  of  Oxford,  also.  In  his 
"  Five  Years  in  an  English  University,"  Mr.  Bristed 
says  (Revised  Edition  of  1874,  pp.  413,  414)  :  "The 
reading  [hard-working]  men  are  obliged  to  be  toler- 
ably temperate,  but  among  the  rowing  men  there  is  a 
great  deal  of  absolute  drunkenness  at  dinner  and  sup- 
per parties.  .  .  .  The  American  graduate  is  ut- 
terly confounded  at  the  amount   of  open  profligacy 


54  AMERICAN  COLLEGES. 

going  on  all  around  him  at  an  English  university  ;  a 
profligacy  not  confined  to  the  rowing  set,  but  includ- 
ing many  of  the  reading  men  and  not  altogether  spar- 
ing those  in  authority." 

Into  a  condition  of  such  moral  depravity  American 
colleges  have  never  fallen ;  and  there  is  no  valid 
reason  to  believe  they  ever  will  fall  into  it. 


RELIGION.  55 


CHAPTER  IV. 

RELIGION. 

Religion  was  the  corner-stone  in  the  foundation  of 
our  older  colleges.  Harvard,  founded  in  1636,  sprang 
from  the  "  dreading  to  leave  an  illiterate  ministry  to 
the  churches/'  and  bears  the  name  of  a  Congregational 
clergyman.  Its  welfare  was  the  frequent  topic  of 
sermons,  and  the  constant  burden  of  the  prayers  of 
the  early  colonists.  Yale,  founded  at  the  close  of  the 
seventeenth  century,  was  designed  to  inculcate  a  more 
orthodox  Christianity  than  Harvard  was  supposed  to 
represent,  and  to  educate  a  ministry  for  the  New  Haven 
colony.  Princeton,  established  in  1746,  was  intended 
to  supply  "  the  church  with  learned  and  able  ministers 
of  the  Word."  Dartmouth  was  founded  in  1769  on 
the  fundamental  principles  of  the  Christian  religion. 
Bowdoin  was  dedicated  in  its  first  years  to  the  Church 
of  Christ.      And  Amherst  was  planted  in  1825   for 


56 


AMERICAN  COLLEGES. 


the  sake,  primarily,  of  training  men  for  the  foreign  mis- 
sionary work.  Indeed  the  strong  rehgious  character 
of  nearly  all  the  older  colleges  at  their  foundation  is  indi- 
cated by  President  Witherspoon,  of  Princeton,  in  saying, 
"  Cursed  be  all  that  learning  that  is  contrary  to  the 
Cross  of  Christ ;  cursed  be  all  that  learning  that  is 
not  coincident  with  the  Cross  of  Christ ;  cursed  be 
all  that  learning  that  is  not  subservient  to  the  Cross  of 
Christ." 

But  not  only  in  the  purposes  of  the  establishment 
of  the  early  colleges  was  the  religious  element  mani- 
fest, but  also  in  their  government  and  instruction.  At 
Harvard,  many  of  the  early  "laws,  liberties  and 
orders  "  related  to  the  Christian  duties  of  the  students  : 
"  Every  one  shall  consider  the  main  end  of  his  life  and 
studies  to  know  God  and  Jesus  Christ,  which  is  eter- 
nal life."  "  Every  one  shall  so  exercise  himself  in 
reading  the  Scriptures  twice  a  day  that  they  be  ready 
to  give  an  account  of  their  proficiency  therein,  both 
in  theoretical  observations  of  language  and  logic,  and 
in  practical  and  spiritual  truths."  "  They  shall  eschew 
all  profanation  of  God' s  holy  name,  attributes,  word, 
ordinances,  and  times  of  worship ;  and  study  with 
reverence  and  love,  carefully  to  retain  God  and  his 
truth  in  their  minds."  These  and  similar  rules  relating 
to  religious  and  moral  conduct,  formed  the  large  body 
of  the  laws  to  which    the  first  students  at  Harvard 


RELIGION,  57 

were  subject.  They  were  not,  moreover,  dissimilar  to 
the  first  laws  of  many  of  the  oldest  colleges.  The  course 
of  instruction,  also,  was  thoroughly  imbued  with  the 
religious  element.  The  Hebrew  language  was  studied 
in  common  with  the  Latin  and  the  Greek ;  and  the 
Old  Testatment  and  the  New,  in  the  original,  formed 
one  of  the  principle  books  of  linguistic  study.  "  To 
read  the  original  of  the  Old  and  the  New  Testament 
into  the  Latin  tongue,"  was  the  chief  condition  to 
receiving  Harvard's  first  degree.  A  portion,  also,  of  the 
undergraduates  were  required  to  repeat  in  public,  ser- 
mons, memoriter^  whenever  requested  by  the  proper 
authority. 

But  this  marked  religious  bias  in  college  government 
and  instruction  has  now  passed  away.  The  under- 
graduate is  still  required,  in  most  colleges,  to  atten3 
^h^^^rh  twice  on  the  Sabbath,  and  prayers  daily,  in  the 
chapel,  but  beyond  these  simple  requirements  the 
^olle^e  usuallv  makes  no  religious  demands  upon  him. 
TEeinstruction,  too,  has  lost  its  deep  religious  col- 
oring. Hebrew  is  relegated  to  the  divinity  school ; 
and  the  only  direct  study  made  of  the  New  Testament 
is  a  recitation  in  its  Greek  of  a  Monday  morning.  But 
the  custom  of  devoting  the  first  exercise  of  the  week's 
work  to  New  Testament  Greek  is  obsolescent.  •  Its 
chief  purpose  is  to  prevent  the  student  from  studying 
on  the  Sabbath  unsabbatarian  subjects,  but  as  its  in- 


58  AMERICAN  COLLEGES, 

fluence  in  this  respect  is  inconsiderable,  the  custom  is 
slowly  passing  away.  A  study  of  the  evidences  of 
Christianity  and  allied  topics  is  also  made  in  many 
colleges,  but  it  is  brief  and  cursory ;  and  the  enlarging 
field  of  human  knowledge  renders  it  expedient,  in  the 
judgment  of  many  college  officers,  to  consign  the 
Christian  evidences  and  similar  subjects  of  study  to 
the  theological  seminary.  The  American  college  has, 
therefore,  ceased  to  be  in  its  or^amzafmn,  o-overnment, 
and  instruction  a  distinctively  religious  institution. 
^  Yet  in  the  establishment  and  organization  oi  many 
of  the  western  colleges,  the  religious  idea  is  still  very 
prominent.  Not  a  few  of  the  colleges  in  Ohio,  Illi- 
nois, Iowa  and  adjoining  States  are  outgrowths  of 
home  missionary  movements,  and  are  primarily  de- 
signed for  the  training  of  a  Christian  ministry.  The 
first  educated  men  that,  as  a  class,  entered  the  North- 
west territory  and  the  territories  bord^iring  the  western 
bank  of  the  Mississippi,  were  the  home  missionaries. 
Their  aim  was  to  permeate  the  new  West  with  Chris- 
tian influences;  and  among  the  earliest  and  most 
effective  means  they  employed,  was  the  establishment 
of  colleges.  These  colleges  were,  therefore.  Christian 
in  their  origin,  purpose  and  operation.  Iowa  College' 
was  founded  in  1847,  by  the  famous  "Iowa"  or 
"Andover  Band"  (a  dozen  graduates  of  Andover 
Theological  Seminary,  who  entered  Iowa  in  1846),  and 


RELIGION.  59 

rfias  been,  and  still  is,  one  of  the  chief  instruments  in 
(j:he  evangelization  of  that  great  State.  Western  Re- 
serve  College  sprang  from  the  desire  of  the  honig  rm>- 
sionaries  of  a  school  for  educating  ministers.  Illinois 
College  wasTounded  by  the  Home  Missionary  Asso- 
ciation. The  first  years  of  Oberlin  College  were 
thoroughly  pervaded  with  Christian  influences  ;  and 
the  spirit  that  ruled  its  founders  is  indicated  in  the  in- 
scription on  a  banner  that  waved  from  a  flagstaff  in 
the  little  village — "  Holiness  unto  the  Lord."  Many, 
therefore,  of  the  recently  established  colleges  of  the 
west  are  pre-eminently  Christian  in  their  foundation 

and  purposes. — 

Indeed,  in  the  case  of  the  vast  majority  of  our 
three  hundred  colleges,  the  religious  element,  though 
of  little  weight  in  the  legal  organization  and 
scholastic  working  of  the  college,  has  a  most  impor- 
tant influence  in  the  daily  life  and  on  the  character  of 

\  the  students^/  The  professors  and  instructors  are,  as  a 
rule.  Christians.  Though  it  is  seldom  that  a  religious 
test  is  made  a  cohdition  to  holding  a  post  of  instruc- 
tion, yet,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  the  large  majority  of  the 
members  of  college  faculties  are  communicants  in  the 
church^Amherst  exacts  no  religious  creed  of  heT 
instructors,  yet,  it  is  the  testimony  of  President  Seelye 
that,  "we  should  no  more  think  of  appointing  to  a  post  , 
of  instruction  here  an  irreligious,  than  we  should  an  / 


M 


60  AMERICAN  COLLEGES. 

immoral,  man,  or  one  ignorant  of  the  topic  he  would 
haveto  teach."     In  Princeton,  also,  no  religious  test 
lis  required,  but  Dr.   McCosh  writes  that,  **  most  of 
lour  instructors  are  Presbyterians,  but  we  commonly 
Lbave  members  of  other  religious  denominations."     In 
Brown  University  the  case  is  similar  ;  though   de- 
manding no  religious  pledge,  "  it  WQuld-4Qubtless  de- 
A  .-<;line."-says  President  Robinson,  "  to   take_an  atheist 
/^  V  or  a  professed^ eptic  .asj^^riofegsorr     Oberlin  Col- 
lege, also,  has  "  no  confession  of  faith  prescribed  by 
jcustom  for  the  instructors  in  any  department  of  the 
/college,"  writes  its  president,  "  but  it  is  customary,  and 
/  has  been  from  the  foundation  of  the  school,  to  ap- 
/  point  as   instructors  such  only  as  give  evidence  of 
I    Christian  character,  as  this  term  is  commonly  under- 
v^tonH^^^prnong    "pyyangphVal    b<^hf  v^^^*^ "      Though    the 

Itate  University  of  Michigan,  too,  demancTs  no  religs 
lous  conditions  of  its  professors,  yet  "  as  a  matter  of 
[agr,^'  sa^^s  President  Angell,  "  the  great  majority  of 
^r  instructors  have  always  been  communicants  in 
^churc^s."  At  Yale  and  Harvard,  also,  a  large  num- 
I'ber  of  the  professors  are  recognized  as  Christians. 
Though,  therefore,  the  large  majority  of  the  colleges 
require  no  religious  confession  of  their  professors,  the 
great  body  of  their  professors  are  believers  in  the 
^religion  of  Christ.  The  American  college,  as  now  con- 
ducted, is  devoted  to  the  promotion  of  knowledge  and 


RELIGION.  6 1 

intellectual  discipline  ;  but  the  Christian  character  of 


its  professors  renders  its  influence  Christiriri  in  thft.' 
highest  degree.  The  American  college  is  Christian 
m  the  same  way  in  which  the  American  government 
can  be  said  to  believe  in  the  existence  of  a  God. 
Though  the  existence  of  a  Supreme  Ruler  is  unac- 
knowledged in  constitution  or  statute,  yet  it  is  con- 
stantly recognized  in  the  carrying  on  of  all  the  de- 
partments of  the  Stale 

Into   the  life   of  the   students,   also,   religion   is 
thoroughly  ingrained.     About  one-half  of  the  thirty-*^ 
one  thousand  men  and  women  who  are  now  pursuing  / 
regular  college  courses  are  professed  Christians^  The 
proportion  of  those  who  are,  to  those  who  are  not, 
professed  Christians  varies  with  colleges.     The  low- 
est extreme  is  probably  (in  general  terms)  one  to  four,   . 
as  at  Harvard,  and  the  highest  nine  to  ten,  as  at  Ober-   ) 
Jin  :  at  Dartmouth  and  Bowdoin,  one  from  every  three   I 
students  is  a  Christian  ;  at  Yale,  two  from  every  five  \j 
at  Michigan  University  and  ^ffiestern  Reserve,  one   ^ 
from  every  two ;  at  Prinreton.  Rrown  TTniVer<^ify,  Ri- 
ppn,  andlVl  arietta,  three  from  every  five ;  at  Amherst, 
Williams,  Middlebury,  Wesleyan  University,  Iowa, 
and  Berea,  four  from  every  five.     About  fifteen  thou- 
sand, therefore,  of  the  thirty-one  thousand  college  stu- 
dents in  the  country  may  be  regarded  as  Christians. 
The  increase  in  the  proportion  of  Christian  col- 


62  AMERICAN  COLLEGES. 


Hi\ 


legians  within  the  last  twenty-five  years  is  most 
gratifying.  In  1853  only  one  man  in  every  ten  at 
Harvard  College  was  a  professor  of  religion ;  at 
Brown,  one  in  every  five  ;  at  Yale,  Dartmouth  and 
Bowdoin,  one  in  every  four ;  at  Williams,  one  from 
two  ;  and  at  Amherst,  five  in  every  eight.  At  Mid- 
dlebury  the  ratio  was  as  it  is  now,  four  from  every 
five  students  being  Christians.  (Tyler's  Prayer  for 
Colleges,  p.  136.)  In  these  seven  representative  col- 
•  leges,  selected  at  random,  tjie  proportion  of  Christian 
students  has  increased  in  a  most  remarkable  degree 
in  the  last  quarter  of  a  century.  But  the  advance,  as 
compared  with  the  religious  condition  of  the  colleges 
in  the  first  years  of  the  century,  is  still  more  marked. 
At  that  time  the  flood  of  French  infidelity  was  sweep- 
ing over  the  land,  and  the  effects  it  wrought  in  the  col- 
leges were  most  disastrous.  At  Harvard  and  Yale 
the  number  of  Christian  students  was  probably  fewer 
than  at  any  other  period  in  their  history.  "  In  the 
first  classes  "  at  Bowdoin  College,  founded  in  1802, 
writes  Professor  Smyth,*  "  I  can  learn  of  but  one 
who  may  have  been  deemed,  at  the  time  of  admission, 
hopefully  pious."  At  Williams  there  was,  near  the 
same  period,  **  but  one  in  the  Freshman  class,  who  be- 
longed to  any  church  ;  none  in  the  higher  classes."  \ 

*  Religious  History  of  Bowdoin  College,  p.  7. 
\  History  of  Williams  College,  p.  iii. 


RELIGION.  63 

But  within  the  course  of  two  generations,  so  thorough 
have  been  the  religious  changes,  that  it  is  safe  to  say 
at  the  present  time  at  least  one-half  of  American  col- 
lege students  are  Christian  men  and  women. 

The  religious  life  of  college  men  is  manifested  in 
various  methods  of  Christian  endeavor.  In  many 
colleges,  as  at  Dartmouth,  Iowa,  are  societies  which 
bear  the  same  relation  to  the .  Christian  students  as 
literary  societies  bear  to  literary  students.  These  so- 
cieties hold  weekly  or  fortnightly  meetings,  with  a 
programme  composed  of  orations,  debates,  and  essays 
upon  religious  topics  ;  and  they  are  also  the  spring 
whence  flow  the  religious  activities  of  the  college. 
Their  members  frequently  organize  mission  Sunday 
schools  in  the  city  or  town  in  which  the  college  is 
located,  and  in  many  colleges  noble  results  have  been 
thus  accomplished.  Three  such  schools  are  supported 
by  the  students  of  Olivet  College,  six  by  those  of 
Beloit,  and  ten  by  those  of  Iowa.  Prayer-meetings 
are  also  held  each  week  in  the  college,  and  are  con- 
ducted and  supported  by  both  professors  and  students. 
In  many  colleges,  moreover,  exists  a  church,  of  the 
denomination  which  the  college  represents,  and  with 
a  membership  made  up  principally  of  the  college  offi- 
cers and  students.  Yale,  Amherst,  Tufts,  Dartmouth, 
and  a  large  number  of  other  colleges,  have  churches 
which  are  the  religious  home  of  many  of  their  Chris- 
tian students. 


64  AMERICAN  COLLEGES. 

But  the  most  important  characteristic  of  the  re- 
ligious life  of  the  college  is  the  revival.  The  revival 
is  both  the  cause  and  the  result  of  that  Christian  tone 
and  color  which  mark  the  great  majority  of  American 
colleges.  It  is  of  more  frequent  occurrence,  of  longer 
continuance,  of  greater  pervasiveness,  and  of  a  calmer, 
intellectual  character  among  college  men  than  in  any 
other  class  of  the  community.  At  Yale,  Harvard,  and 
Brown,  revivals  have  of  late  years  oeen  infrequent^' 

Tut  at  most  colleges  it  is  seldom  that  a  college  gen- 
eration  has  passed  away  without  first  passing  through 
a  revival  of  religion.  In  nearly  every  year  Amherst 
College  experiences  such  an  awakening.  Its  extent 
and  intensity  vary  much  with  different  years  ;  and  in 
recent  seasons,  the  winters  of  1870,  1872,  1876,  and 
1878,  are  noteworthy  as  witnessing  an  unusual  de- 
gree of  spiritual  interest.     At  Princeton,  each  of  the 

•  last  twenty-five  classes,  with  one  or  two  exceptions, 
has  in  the  course  of  the  four  years  passed  through  a 
revival  reason  ;  and  it  was  only  a  few  years  since  that 
over  a  hundred  students  were  converted  in  a  single 
term.  Wesleyan  University,  Dartmouth,  Williams, 
Hamilton,  and  other  eastern  colleges  are  not  infre- 
quently subject  to  special  revival  influences,  and  a 
considerable  proportion  of  their  students  become 
Christians  during  their  college  course. 
jfl  the  colleges  for  women,  as  Vassar,  Wellgsley, 


RELIGION. 


65 


Smith,  the  revival  spirit  is  also  very  pervasive.  Al^ 
most  three-sevenths  of  the  Vassnr  g^^^^ritQ  gr^^  C\^r\^. 
tians.  and  several  become  so  in  the  four  years  of  their 
Sollege.life.  Wellesley  College  was  founded  express- 
ly in  the  interests  of  the  Church  of  Christ,  and  the 
revival  influence  of  its  founder,  though  now  dead, 
pervades  the  whole  college.  A  large  number  of  the 
students  which  Smith  College,  in  the  Connecticut 
valley,  gathers  is  Christian,  and  all  the  influences  of 
this  Amherst  for  women  are  as  Christian  as  they  are 
scholarly. 

^  "Rni-  if  iQ  prnbaV>iy  ir>  fi.^  wf^^fprn  rnlle^es  that  re- 
vivals are  most  frequent  and  extensive.  In  many  oi 
them"  revivals  occur  as  regularly  as  the  coming  of  the 
winter,  and,  considered  as  a  whole,  about  one-half  of 
their  students  become  Christians  during  the  four 
years  of  the  college  course.  This  is  especially  true 
in  regard  to  Oberlin  and  Iowa  College.  /\t  Mar^j-j-^ 
and  Ripon,  about  one-third  of  the  students  are  con- 
verted in  the  four  years!  It  is  very  difficult,  as  one 
of  itsformer  students  remarked,  to  graduate  at  Iowa 
College  without  becoming  a  Christian  ;  and  the  case 
'is  similar  in  many  of  the  eminently  Christian  colleges 
oftffTewest.  . — 

^^hfiJSkpecialmeans  that  are  employed  in  occasion- 
ingjxvivals  in  the^oUe^e  COtnmunity  are  similar  to 
those  thatare  USed  m  brmgmg  about  i'evivals  iiTthe 


lu( 


\ 


^  AMERICAN  COLLEGES. 

community  at  large.     Into  eastern  colleges,  however, 
the  professional  revivalist  is  seldom  called.     College 
revivals  spring  far  more  naturally  from  the  conditions 
of  college  life  than  from  the  condition  of  religious  life 
in  the  general  community.    The  though tfulness  which 
college  studies  engender,  and  the  culture  which  they 
foster,  incline  the  attention  to  religious  topics.     The 
prolonged  intimacy  of  the  friendships  of    Christian 
and  non-Christian  students  leads  many  into  piety.   ^ 
The  Christian  influence  and  zeal  of  professors  and  in- 
structors  awaken  a  desire  in  their  pupils  tor  a  nobler'^ 
and  better  life.     The .  frequent  prayer-meetings,  the 
endeavors  of  religious  societies,  the  religious  earnest- 
ness  of  Christian  students,  arouse  and  sustain  inquiry 
upon   spintTiai  questions.     And  the  influence  of  the 
Day  of   Prayer  for   Colleges,  the  last  Thursday  in 
every  January,  a  day  which  has  been   observed  in 
some  colleges  for  fifty  years  by  special  prayer  for  the 
conversion  of  college  men,  is  most  efficient  in  awaken- 
ing revivals    of  religioij/    In  many  western  collegesA 
'^In-addition  to  thesem^eans,  revivalists  are  frequently  \ 
employed,  and  the  results  of  their  work  are  often  very  J 
extended  and  thorough. 

The  frequency  and  the  thoroughness  of  revivals 
in  our  colleges  are  indicated  in  the  fact  that  Yale 
College,  in  the  course  of  its  history,  has  experienced 
no  less  than  thirty-six,  which  have  resulted  in  at  least 


RELIGION.  67 

twelve  hundred  conversions;  Dartmouth  College, 
nine,  resulting  in  two  hundred  and  fifty  conversions  ; 
and  Middlebury  and  Amherst  at  least  twelve  each, 
resulting,  in  the  case  of  the  latter  college,  in  three 
hundred  and  fifty  conversions.  (Kirk's  Lectures  on 
Revivals,  p.  148.) 

The  most  interesting  feature  in  the  college  re- 
vival  is  its  entire  freedom  from  sprt-grinn  infinpnrpq 
Denominational  interests  seldom  show  themselves  in 
a  college  revival  of  the  religion  of  Christ.  Indeed, 
this  is  the  case  in  regard  to  the  general  religious  as- 
sociations of  the  Christian  students.  Although  most 
of  our  colleges  are  sectarian,  yet  the'^^CLiAiia.ii  influ- 
ences they  possess  over  their  students  are  slight.  At 
the  preiitiHl  time,  of  three  hundred  and  eleven  colleges, 
four  represent.*the  Universalist  denomination,  nine  the 
Episcopal,  eleven  the  "  Christian,"  fourteen  the  Luth- 
eran, fifteen  the  Congregational,  thirty-three  the  Pres- 
byterian, thirty-seven  the  Baptist,  thirty-seven  the 
Roman  Catholic,  and  forty-nine  the  Methodist.  The 
remainder  is  shared  among  the  smaller  denomina- 
tions, as  the  Friends,  or  the  Moravians ;  but  seventy- 
seven  of  the  whole  number  are  non-sectarian.  (Report 
of  Commissioner  of  Education  for  1880,  [with  correc- 
tions.] )  But  in  the  large  majority  of  the  two  hundred 
and  fifty  colleges,  which  are  regarded  as  denomina- 
tional, excepting,  of  course,  the  Roman  Catholic,  the 


68  ^  AMERICAN  COLLEGES. 

Christian  life  of  the  students  is  in  a  marked  degree 
free  from  denominational  influences.  Students  work 
together  in  the  same  religious  society  for  years  with- 
out perhaps  knowing  whether  A  or  B  is  a  Methodist, 
a  Baptist,  or  a  Congregationalist.  The  Christian  sect 
to  which  they  belong  is  of  hardly  more  consequence 
in  their  mutual  association  than  is  the  State  or  city 
in  which  they  were  born. 


SOCIETIES.  69 


CHAPTER  V. 

SOCIETIES. 

The  division  of  college  societies  into  open  and 
secret  organizations  cannot  be  made  with  exactness. 
The  doings  of  the  open  society  are  usually  manifested 
to  whomsoever  cares  to  look  at  them,  but  ofttimes  are 
half  veiled  from  the  students*  curiosity.  The  methods 
and  work  of  the  so-called  secret  society  are  in  certain 
cases  concealed  with  Masonic  strictness,  and  in  others 
are  revealed  with  childlike  frankness. 

The  open  societies  are  far  more  numerous  than 
the  secret.  They  are  more  popular  with  the  western 
than  with  the  eastern  students,  but  nearly  every 
college  has  at  least  one  public,  open  society.  Har- 
vard has  several  open  societies,  whose  membership  is 
elected  and  comprises  in  the  Sophomore  year  about 
one  half  of  the  members  of  a  class  of  the  average  size, 
and  in  the  succeeding  years  a  somewhat  smaller  pro- 


70  AMERICAN  COLLEGES. 

portion.  With  her  several  secret  organizations  Yale, 
too,  has  at  least  two  societies  which  deserve  to  be 
called  open,  the  recently  revived  Linonia  and  the 
Gamma  Nu  of  the  Freshman  year.  Princeton,  pro- 
hibiting secret  societies,  rejoices  in  several  of  the 
open  type,  three  of  which  are  in  a  very  flourishing 
condition.  And  Cornell,  Amherst,  Oberlin,  Iowa  Col- 
lege, and  the  vast  majority  of  our  colleges  are  well 
equipped  with  the  students*  societies. 

The  open  society  is  usually  of  a  literary  character ; 
and  the  programme  of  its  weekly  or  fortnightly  meet- 
ing consists  of  orations,  debates,  essays  and  similar 
exercises.  But  natural  history  societies,  art  and 
musical  clubs,  French  and  German  clubs,  also  flour- 
ish in  a  few  of  the  colleges,  as  Cornell  and  Harvard. 
The  degree  of  merit  of  the  literary  and  other  work  of 
these  societies  is  most  diverse.  In  certain  of  the 
Harvard  societies,  in  Yale's,  Princeton's,  Oberlin's,  not 
to  name  others,  it  is  high;  but  in  those  of  many  col- 
leges the  performances  manifest  a  need  of  clear 
thought  and  a  verbiage  which  are  as  saddening  as 
they  are  common. 

To  the  intellectual  and  literary  development  of  the 
student  these  societies  are  of  either  great  or  little 
service,  or  of  positive  injury,  according  to  the  discre- 
tion with  which  he  uses  them.  There  can  be  no 
doubt  but  that  the  open  literary  societies  have,  in  the 


SOCIETIES.  71 

past,  been  of  much  use  in  the  training  of  students. 
They  have  supplemented  the  curriculum.  The  cur- 
riculum has  been  the  most  defective  in  affording 
instruction  in  writing  and  speaking  ;  and  the  society, 
requiring  a  constant  practice  in  these  two  arts,  has, 
to  a  large  extent,  remedied  these  defects.  But  these 
defects  of  the  past,  in  the  college  course  of  study,  are 
now  in  a  great  degree  wiped  out.  The  colleges  are 
constantly  increasing  the  amount  of  the  attention 
paid  to  the  oratorical  and  literary  accomplishments, 
and,  therefore,  the  need  of  the  literary  society  is 
now  far  less  urgent  than  it  was  fifteen,  or  twenty-five, 
or  fifty  years  ago.  But  even  at  the  present  time  the 
literary  society  of  his  college  offers  advantages  to  the 
student  which,  if  properly  used,  may  prove  of  great 
value.  These  advantages  may  be  summarized  as 
consisting  chiefly  in  the  increase  in  his  ability  to 
think  on  his  feet,  facing  an  audience,  in  the  increase 
in  his  facility  of  expression,  in  the  practice  in  writing, 
in  the  acquaintance  with  parliamentary  law  and  order 
which  it  necessitates  and  augments,  and  in  the  friend- 
ships which  it  fosters. 

But  with  these  excellences  of  the  open  society 
system  are  linked  two  dangers  to  which  the  society 
student  is  peculiarly  subject.  The  first  and  the  more 
perilous  is  the  temptation  to  neglect  his  regular  col- 
lege work  for  the  sake  of  delivering  a  creditable  part 


^2  AMERICAN  COLLEGES. 

in  his  society ;  and  the  second,  but  hardly  less  peril- 
ous danger,  a  tendency  to  substitute  bombast  and 
verbiage  for  clear  and  condensed  thought.  If  the 
student  is  faithful  to  his  regular  work  and  presents  to 
his  fellow-members  the  results  of  only  patient  and 
painstaking  thinking,  his  society  may  prove  of  the 
best  service  to  his  literary  and  forensic  culture. 

But  the  influence  and  importance  of  the  secret,  are 
in  many  colleges  much  greater  than  of  the  open,  soci- 
eties. The  secret  society  system  at  Yale  is  of  at 
least  as  great  importance  as  at  any  other  college,  and 
the  honors  which  it  offers  are  to  some  students  in 
every  class  more  attractive  than  the  honors  of  high 
scholarship.  Amherst  and  Williams  have  four  or  five 
chapters  each  of  the  principal  societies,  and  many  of 
the  social  and  class-political  interests  of  the  students 
cluster  about  them.  In  Brown  University,  Hamilton, 
Bowdoin,  Dartmouth,  Cornell,  Union,  Columbia,  Wes- 
leyan,  and  Michigan  University,  as  well  as  in  Yale, 
Amherst,  and  Williams,  the  system  of  secret  societies 
prevails  to  a  considerable  extent;  and  probably  in 
about  one  hundred  of  our  colleges  at  least  a  single 
chapter  is  founded. 

The  principal  secret  societies  which  have  estab- 
lished chapters  in  different  colleges  are  seven  in  num- 
ber, and  bear  the  names  of  the  Alpha  Delta  Phi,  the 
Delta  Kappa  Epsilon,  the  Psi  Upsilon,  the   Kappa 


SOCIETIES. 


73 


Alpha,  the  Sigma  Phi,  the  Chi  Psi,  and  the  Delta 
Psi.  The  three  first-named  societies  have  by  far  the 
largest  number  of  chapters,  and,  though  there  are 
frequently  additions  to  the  list  by  means  of  new  foun- 
dations, and  omissions  in  consequence  of  dissolutions, 
each  of  the  three  has  about  twenty-five  chapters. 
The  remaining  societies  have  some  ten  chapters  each, 
established  in  as  many  different  colleges.  The  first 
chapter  of  the  Alpha  Delta  Phi  was  founded  at  Ham- 
ilton, in  1832  ;  the  first  of  the  Psi  Upsilon  at  Union, 
in  1833  ;  and  the  first  chapters  of  the  Delta  Kappa 
Epsilon  at  Princeton,  Bowdoin,  and  Colby  University, 
in  1845.  Of  the  other  societies  the  large  majority  of 
the  chapters  have  been  established  within  the  course 
of  the  present  generation.  The  total  membership  of 
the  seven  organizations  from  their  foundation  aggre- 
gates about  twenty-nine  thousand  names,  over  one 
half  of  which  are  enrolled  under  the  Delta  Kappa 
Epsilon,  the  Alpha  Delta  Phi,  and  the  Psi  Upsilon. 
The  size  of  the  chapters  differs  from  year  to  year,  and 
with  the  different  colleges.  It  is  seldom  that  more 
than  thirty  of  the  undergraduates  are  enrolled  in  a 
single  chapter,  and  the  number  often  falls  as  low  as 
five  or  six. 

But  besides  the  secret  societies,  with  chapters  in 
the  different  colleges,  bearing  a  relation  to  each  other 
similar  to  that  which  the  Masonic  lodges  bear  to  one 


74 


AMERICAN  COLLEGES, 


another,  several  colleges  have  societies  which  are 
distinctively  their  own  possessions.  Among  the  secret 
societies  of  the  latter  type,  the  "  Skull  and  Bones  " 
and  the  "Scroll  and  Key"  of  Yale,  hold  the  most 
prominent  place.  Founded  in  1832  and  1841,  they 
have  for  a  generation  been  a  most  influential  factor  in 
Yale  life.  The  membership  of  each  consists  of  fifteen 
men  of  the  incoming  Senior  class,  elected  by  the 
graduating  members  on  the  eve  of  Commencement. 
Among  the  members  are  usually  the  ablest  thinkers, 
the  highest  scholars,  the  most  popular  and  the  repre- 
sentative men  of  the  class.  An  election,  therefore, 
to  either  society  is  a  deeply  coveted  honor.  About 
each  the  strictest  secrecy  hangs  ;  and  what  occurs 
within  their  stone,  windowless,  tomb-like  halls  is  a 
constant  riddle  to  the  New  Haven  student.  But  from 
the  high  literary  and  scholarly  ability  of  many  of 
their  members,  and  from  the  advance  made  by  most 
of  them  in  literary  studies,  it  is  not  difficult  to  infer 
the  general  character  of  their  weekly  meetings.  The 
influence  of  both  associations  in  Yale  life  is  very 
potent ;  and  the  interest  which  the  graduate  members 
feel  in  them  appears  to  be  more  warm  and  lasting 
than  that  respecting  any  other  feature  of  the  college. 
Unlike  Yale,  Harvard  has  no  societies  that  can  be 
called  secret  in  the  sense  in  which  the  "  Skull  and 
Bones  "  and  "  Scroll  and  Key  "  are  secret.     Although 


SOCIETIES. 


75 


chapters  of  the  principal  societies  have  been  estab- 
lished among  her  students,  none  of  them  have  at 
present  an  active  existence ;  and  it  is  probable  that 
no  secret  organization  would  be  allowed  to  be  formed 
in  the  college.  The  "  Hasty  Pudding  Club  "  and  the 
Pi  Eta  approach,  however,  the  most  closely  to  the 
secret  type,  although  the  character  and  the  work  of 
both  are  familiar  to  all  the  students.  The  former  is  a 
dramatic  and  social  club ;  and  the  latter  of  the  same 
nature,  tinged  with  a  literary  hue.  The  period  of 
membership  covers  the  last  half  of  the  Junior,  and  the 
first  half  of  the  Senior,  year;  and  the  number  of 
members  usually  embraces  about  half  the  men  of  a 
class.  Popularity  and  intellectual  ability  are  the  con- 
ditions most  important  in  obtaining  an  election,  al- 
though, ofttimes,  the  best  scholars  are  members  of 
neither  association. 

The  conditions  of  membership  in  the  societies 
which  are  composed  of  affiliated  chapters  in  the  dif- 
ferent colleges  are  as  general  and  as  diverse  as  those 
favorable  to  obtaining  admission  to  the  peculiar  or- 
ganizations of  Yale  and  Harvard.  These  conditions 
vary  in  the  case  of  the  same  society  in  the  difEerent 
colleges,  and  also  in  the  case  of  different  societies  in 
the  same  college.  For  admission  to  certain  chapters 
wealth  is  the  only  essential ;  to  others  only  scholar- 
ship and  intellectual  abiUty ;  to  others  literary  excel- 


76  AMERICAN  COLLEGES. 

lence  and  eminent  social  qualities ;  and  to  yet  others 
all  those  indefinable  qualities  which  make  a  "  fine  fel- 
low." 

The  qualities  that  favor  an  election  to  a  secret  so- 
ciety indicate  in  general  the  character  of  the  work 
and  of  the  pleasures  which  its  members  cultivate.  In 
at  least  one  chapter  in  nearly  every  college  the  work 
is  of  a  literary  character ;  and  to  the  preparation  of 
orations  and  essays  the  members  ofttimes  give  more 
attention  than  to  the  preparation  of  similar  exercises 
for  the  college  professor  of  rhetoric.  The  literary  so- 
ciety has  proved,  with  not  a  few  graduates,  to  be  an 
admirable  training  school  for  the  editorial  desk,  the 
bar,  the  pulpit,  and  the  platform.  Another  society  is 
specially  devoted  to  the  discussion  of  political  ques- 
tions, which  it  does  with  quite  as  much  sagacity  and 
with  far  more  decorum  than  the  usual  session  of  the 
House  of  Representatives.  But  the  most  common 
type  of  the  secret  society  is  the  social,  and,  indeed, 
whatever  may  be  the  phase  specially  represented  by 
the  society,  the  social  invariably  receives  a  consider- 
able degree  of  emphasis.  The  social  bias  of  the  club 
is  indicated  in  cards,  games  of  various  sorts,  con- 
versation upon  topics  both  high  and  low,  and  in  the 
weekly  or  monthly  dinner  spread  in  the  rooms.  In 
the  social  society  the  warmest  and  the  most  lasting 
friendships  of  college  life  are  formed,  and,  in  the 


SOCIETIES,  77 

judgment  of  many  graduates,  the  fostering  of  intimate 
friendship  is  the  most  valuable  of  all  the  results  which 
secret  societies  effect. 

Regarding  the  expenses  of  membership,  only  the 
initiated  have  accurate  knowledge,  and  they  are  not 
permitted  to  exhibit  their  financial  budgets.  Yet  cer- 
tain general  conclusions  are  evident.  The  initiation 
fee  seldom  exceeds  thirty  dollars,  and  is  frequently 
much  less  ;  and  the  annual  tax  varies  with  the  actual 
expenses.  If  a  society  is  composed  of  a  few  wealthy 
men,  this  tax  may  amount  to  a  hundred  dollars,  but  in 
other  cases  it  does  not  exceed  twenty.  If  the  mciTi- 
bership  comprises  both  the  poor  and  the  rich  student, 
the  rich  often  relieves  his  brother  of  all  financial  bur- 
dens. The  poor  is  seldom  or  never  compelled  to  pay 
beyond  his  means ;  the  rich  is  usually  glad  to  give  of 
his  abundance.  The  expenses  of  the  buildings,  which 
the  society  either  owns  or  occupies,  is  often  very  great. 
The  marble  building  of  the  "  Scroll  and  Key,"  at  New 
Haven,  cost  about  fifty  thousand  dollars;  and  that  of 
the  "  Skull  and  Bones  "  is  worth  at  least  twenty-five 
thousand.  The  Alpha  Delta  Phi  has  a  very  good 
building  at  Amherst,  and  the  new  hall  of  the  Kappa 
Alpha,  at  Williams,  cost  fifteen  thousand.  These 
funds  are  contributed  in  a  large  measure  by  the  grad- 
uate members,  and  the  undergraduates  bear  but  a 
small  proportion  of  the  heavier  expenses  of  the  society. 


y^  AMERICAN  COLLEGES. 

The  interest  which  many  graduates  feel  in  their 
society  is  usually  very  deep  and  warm.  Their  con- 
nection with  it  does  not  cease  on  graduation  as  with 
the  college.  They  are  still  its  members,  are  consulted 
in  reference  to  alterations  in  its  methods  of  work,  are 
always,  on  Commencement  and  other  occasions,  wel- 
comed and  entitled  to  its  hospitalities.  They  also 
form  associations  similar  to  the  alumni  associations 
of  the  college,  and  by  frequent  meetings  keep  their 
interest  in  its  welfare  fresh  and  strong.  In  the  mu- 
tual helpfulness  of  its  members,  after  as  well  as  before 
graduation,  the  college  secret  sodN^  is  akin  to  the  Ma- 
sonic or  Odd  Fellow  system  ;  and  many  cases  might 
be  recited  of  aid  given  in  the  late  war  by  Unionist  to 
rebel,  or  by  rebel  to  Unionist,  making  his  need  known 
by  the  signs  of  the  association,  on  the  ground  that 
once  they  were,  or  still  are,  members  of  the  same  so- 
ciety, though  in  widely  separated  colleges. 

Regarding  the  usefulness  and  the  injury  effected 
by  the  secret  society  system  in  American  colleges, 
the  m^t  opposite  positions  are  held  by  college  of- 
ficers. The  late  President  Chadbourne  of  Williams, 
Chamberlain  of  Bowdoin,maintain  that  their  influence 
on  the  whole  is  beneficial;  but  Chancellor  Howard 
Crosby,  recently  of  the  University  of  the  city  of  New 
York,  Presidents  Robinson  of  Brown,  and  McCosh  of 
Princeton,  oppose  them  on  strong  grounds ;  one  col- 


SOCIETIES.  79 

lege  president  writes  of  their  "  babyishness,"  and  an- 
other calls  them  an  "  unmitigated  nuisance."  The 
principal  objections  which  may  be  urged  against 
them  have  been  summarized  by  Dr.  Crosby,  as : 

1.  "They  are  pretenses,  and  thus  at  war  with 
truth,  candor,  and  manliness." 

2.  "  The  opportunity  given  by  the  secrecy  to  im 
morality." 

3.  "  The  confidence  between  parent  and  child  is 
broken,  and  hence  destroyed,  by  these  secret  so- 
cieties." 

4.  They  "  interfere  with  a  faithful  course  of  study." 

5.  "  Natural  use  of  these  societies  for  disturbance 
of  public  order." 

6.  "  Their  evil  influence  upon  the  regular  literary 
societies  of  the  college,  which  are  instituted  as  ad- 
juncts of  the  curriculum." 

7.  "  Their  expensiveness." 

But  the  truthfulness  of  these  objections  would  be 
denied  by  many  college  men.  For,  though  the 
grounds  upon  which  the  objections  are  based  exist  in 
certain  societies,  they  are  not,  it  would  be  claimed, 
necessarily  inherent  in  the  system. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  arguments  most  generally 
urged  in  their  favor  are  the  friendships  which  they 
foster,  the  literary  and  forensic  discipline  they  give, 
the  home  which  they  afford  to  the  homeless  student, 


8o  AMERICAN  COLLEGES. 

and  the  mutual  helpfulness  which  they  extend  to  both 
undergraduate  and  graduate  member.  In  many  col- 
leges, therefore,  and  among  many  students,  they  are 
regarded  with  much  esteem;  but  in  other  colleges 
they  are  the  bane  of  three-fourths  of  the  students  and 
the  object  of  constant  fear  to  the  governing  boards. 


ATHLETICS  AND  HEALTH,  8l 


CHAPTER  VI. 

ATHLETICS   AND   HEALTH. 

College  athletics  may  be  divided,  though  not  with 
precision,  into  those  sports  which  are  played  to  a 
great  degree  for  their  own  sakes,  and  into  those  which 
are  sought  less  for  their  own  sake  than  as  a  condition 
of  the  best  mental  exertion.  Cricket,  foot-ball,  base- 
ball, boating,  tennis  and  lacrosse,  compose  the  for- 
mer class ;  and  the  exercise  usually  performed  in  the 
gymnasium  the  latter. 

Cricket  and  foot-ball  have  never  obtained  that 
standing  among  American  college  men  that  immemo- 
rial usage  has  given  them  among  English  school  boys. 
For  at  least  half  a  century,  however,  the  students  of 
several  of  the  older  colleges  have  played  the  games 
with  varying  degrees  of  interest  and  expertness. 
Cricket  has  at  times  been  very  popular ;  and  foot-ball 
at  several  periods,  as  in  the  sixth  decade  of  the  pres- 
ent century,  has  aroused  all  the  energies  of  the  under- 

6 


82  AMERICAN  COLLEGES. 

graduate  nerve  and  muscle.  Only  few  cricket  clubs 
are  now  organized  ;  yet  foot-ball  elevens  are  formed 
in  many  of  the  colleges. 

At  the  present  time  base-ball  occasions  an  interest 
which  neither  cricket  nor  foot-ball  has  ever  command- 
ed. The  date  of  the  origin  of  the  game  cannot  be 
determined  with  exactness.  The  Knickerbocker 
Club  of  Hoboken  claims  the  year  1845  as  its  birth- 
year  ;  but  it  was  not  till  fifteen  or  seventeen  years 
later  that  it  began  to  assume  an  important  place 
among  the  athletic  sports  of  college  men.  Base-ball 
has  now  become  as  common  and  popular  in  our  col- 
leges as  cricket  was  or  is  at  the  English  schools. 
Nearly  every  college  has  its  nine  composed  of  the 
best  players  among  its  students  ;  and  in  the  largest 
colleges  class  nines  are  also  formed.  During  the  ball 
season,  covering  the  fall  and  the  spring  months,  con- 
stant practice  in  playing  is  had  on  the  grounds 
allotted  by  the  college  for  the  purpose ;  and  in  the 
winter  months  the  candidates  for  the  nine  engage  in 
those  exercises  which  specially  fit  them  for  effective 
service  on  the  ball  field.  Tournaments  are  held  each 
spring  for  the  college  championship  among  sev- 
eral colleges ;  and  the  games  of  Yale,  Harvard, 
Princeton,  Amherst,  and  Brown,  by  reason  of  the 
large  number  of  their  students  and  other  causes, 
arouse  a  high  degree  of  enthusiasm.     But  the  cham- 


ATHLETICS  AND  HEALTH.  83 

pionship  ball  usually  rests  in  the  hands  of  either  Har- 
vard or  Yale,  though  it  has  lain  in  those  of  Prince- 
ton. 

It  is,  however,  as  at  Oxford  and  Cambridge,  in 
boating  that  the  principal  athletic  interest  of  the  stu- 
dents is  focalized.  In  the  middle  of  the  fifth  decade  of 
the  current  century  the  first  boat  clubs  were  formed  in 
the  colleges.  In  1843  at  Yale  and  in  1844  at  Har- 
vard clubs  were  first  organized  which,  though  com- 
posed of  few  members  and  awakening  little  enthusi- 
asm, are  the  beginnings  of  the  present  extensive 
system  of  American  college  boating.  The  growth  of 
the  system  has  been  very  rapid.  Nearly  every  col- 
lege in  the  East  which  is  situated  near  a  river  or  a 
lake  has  its  boat  club ;  and  in  several  of  the  larger 
colleges,  as  Cornell,  Harvard,  and  Yale,  class  and 
other  crews  are  organized.  The  interest  of  the  stu- 
dents in  the  sport  is  fostered  by  the  intercollegiate 
regattas  which  occur  every  July,  and  by  the  contests 
between  rival  crews  of  the  same  college.  The  first 
regatta  between  college  crews  was  rowed  on  Lake 
Winnipiseogee  in  August,  1852.  Harvard  and  Yale 
were  the  only  contestants,  and  the  result  was  a  victory 
for  Harvard.  The  first  regatta  in  which  more  than 
two  college  crews  participated  occurred  in  July,  1859, 
in  which  Yale  and  Brown  were  beaten  by  Harvard. 
Sixteen  large  and  notable  regattas  have  since  been 


84  AMERICAN  COLLEGES. 

pulled.  Of  them  Harvard  has  won  in  eight,  Yale  in 
four,  and  the  Amherst  Agricultural,  Amherst,  Colum- 
bia, and  Cornell  in  one  each.  In  1 87 1  the  National 
Rowing  Association  of  the  American  Colleges  was 
organized.  In  two  years  it  had  grown  to  include 
the  eleven  colleges  of  Yale,  Harvard,  Wesleyan,  Co- 
lumbia, Cornell,  Amherst,  Dartmouth,  Amherst  Agri- 
cultural, Bowdoin,  Trinity  and  Williams.  Between 
the  crews  of  these  colleges  the  regatta  of  the  famous 
"  diagonal  finish  line,'*  was  rowed  on  the  Connecticut 
at  Springfield  in  ,1873.  But  the  difficulty  of  finding 
a  suitable  course  for  so  many  boats  occasioned  the 
dissolution  of  the  Association ;  and  in  the  year  of  1878 
the  chief  interest  in  college  boating  returned  to  cen- 
ter, as  of  old,  upon  the  annual  contest  between  Har- 
vard and  Yale. 

The  rowing  of  American  college  men,  though  con- 
stantly improving  in  style  and  swiftness,  is  not  equal 
to  that  of  the  Oxford  and  Cambridge  oarsmen.  The 
English  universities  have  at  least  three  advantages  in 
regard  to  boating,  not  possessed  by  our  colleges.  The 
number  of  students  from  whom  a  crew  can  be  selected 
is  far  greater  in  either  of  the  universities  than  in  the 
largest  of  our  own  colleges.  In  England,  too,  consid- 
erable attainment  is  made  by  many  men  in  the  art 
before  going  to  Oxford  or  Cambridge ;  but  here  many 
men  never  handle  an   oar  before  entering  college. 


A  THLETICS  AND  HEALTH.  85 

The  English  people,  moreover,  and  the  English  jour- 
nals, manifest  a  deeper  interest  in  the  annual  race  be- 
tween Oxford  and  Cambridge  than  is  excited  in  this 
country  by  the  college  regattas  ;  and  therefore  the 
English  university  oarsman  has  inducements  for  hard 
training  not  possessed  by  his  Harvard  or  Yale  cousin. 
But  in  spite  of  these  advantages,  the  two  occasions 
on  which  the  undergraduate  crews  of  the  two  coun- 
tries have  met  indicate  the  excellence  of  American 
college  oarsmanship.  In  1869  the  Oxford  four,  "the 
finest  four-oared  crew  that  ever  rowed  on  the  Thames,' 
beat  the  Harvard  four  over  a  course  of  four  and  a 
quarter  miles  by  only  six  seconds.  The  victory  of 
Columbia  at  Henley,  in  July,  1878,  also  proves  both 
the  improvement  and  the  present  effectiveness  of 
American  undergraduate  rowing. 

The  training  that  is  requisite  to  occupying  a  seat 
among  a  college  six  or  eight  is  long  and  severe.  In 
the  winter  daily  practice  in  the  gymnasium  with 
rowing  weights  and  Indian  clubs  and  frequent  runs  of 
three  or  four  miles  in  the  open  air,  and  in  the  spring 
and  summer  daily  pulls  on  the  water  form  the  most 
approved  methods  of  training.  The  diet,  also,  par- 
ticularly near  the  time  of  the  race,  is  carefully  at- 
tended to.  Previously  to  1867  the  bill  of  fare  was 
very  limited  ;  beef  and  mutton  were  the  only  meats 
and  rice  the  only  vegetable  generally  allowed.     Watei 


86  AMERICAN  COLLEGES. 

and  milk  alone  were  drank,  and  in  very  small  quan- 
ties.  But  in  that  year  a  change  in  EngUsh  opinion 
regarding  the  regimen  best  adapted  to  men  in 
training,  increased  the  number  and  the  amount  of 
the  articles  of  diet,  and  at  present  the  men  are  per- 
mitted great  liberty  of  choice  in  eating  and  drinking. 
The  purpose  now  is  to  keep  up  and  to  increase,  not 
as  formerly  to  decrease,  the  weight  while  doing  a  full 
amount  of  work  in  training.  The  present  system  is 
justified  by  the  time  that  has  been  made  in  the  re- 
cent races,  the  quickest  ever  made  by  our  undergrad- 
uate crews.  A  similar,  though  not  as  rigorous,  course 
of  training  is  pursued  by  the  base-ball  men. 

The  effect  of  constant  attention  to  these  sports 
upon  the  health  and  length  of  life  of  the  rowing  and 
ball  men  is  on  the  whole  excellent.  This  has  been  con- 
clusively proved  by  the  investigations  of  an  able  English 
writer  in  regard  to  the  health  and  longevity  of  the 
English  boating  men.  The  chief  danger  lies  in  the 
liability  to  disorders  of  the  heart,  caused  by  sudden 
exertions ;  but  as  those  peculiarly  subject  to  these 
diseases  seldom  touch  an  oar  or  a  bat,  the  evils  thus 
occasioned  are  slight.  But  not  a  few  men  of  weak 
constitutions  have  been  made  vigorous  and  muscular 
by  their  college  rowing  and  ball-playing. 

The  effect  of  attention  to  boating  and  ball  upon 
scholarship  is  not  as  excellent  as  upon  health  and  in 


ATHLETICS  AND  HEALTH.  8/ 

increasing  the  length  of  one's  days.  Though  with 
some  marked  exceptions,  the  scholastic  rank  of  boat- 
ing and  ball  men  is  low.  The  expenditure  of  the 
energy  necessary  to  an  indulgence  in  the  sports  de- 
creases the  amount  of  the  thought  and  study  that 
might  otherwise  be  given  to  Tacitus  and  the  Calculus. 
But  the  men  who  even  in  the  largest  colleges  pay 
special  attention  to  boating  and  ball  hardly  exceed 
thirty  in  number,  and  they  are  usually  of  that  class 
which  is  not  attracted  to  scholarly  pursuits.  Their 
athletic  interests,  therefore,  absorb  those  energies 
which  would  in  many  cases  be  given  to  other  work 
than  that  of  the  curriculum.  Yet  there  are  notable  in- 
stances in  which  the  enthusiasm  of  a  brilliant  scholar 
in  his  Greek  and  philosophy  has  decreased  in  propor- 
tion as  his  enthusiasm  in  boating  or  ball  has  in- 
creased. 

Within  the  last  decade  the  physical  exercises  of 
college  men  have  developed  along  an  altogether  new 
line.  "Athletic  Associations"  have  sprung  up  in 
many  colleges,  whose  purpose  is  to  cherish  the  love 
of  such  sports  as  running,  walking  and  jumping. 
Contests  are  held  either  once  or  twice  a  year ;  and 
at  them  prizes  are  offered,  in  competition,  to  the 
swiftest  walkers  and  runners  of  the  college.  Though 
the  intercollegiate  contests  are  no  longer  held,  'as 
several  years    ago,  at    Saratoga,   yet   the   interest 


88  AMERICAN  COLLEGE^ 

in  these  forms  of  physical  exercise  is  well  main- 
tained in  a  large  number  of  colleges. 

It  is  not,  however,  in  cricket  or  foot-ball,  base-ball, 
boating  or  "athletic  associations  "  that  the  interests  of 
the  large  body  of  students  center  :  these  interests  con- 
centrate in  the  gymnasium.  Probably  about  one  half  of 
the  whole  number  of  colleges  has  a  gymnasium  fur- 
nished in  a  greater  or  less  degree  of  efficiency  with 
parallel  and  horizontal  bars,  iron  and  wooden  dumb- 
bells, bowling  alleys,  rowing  weights  and  similar  ap- 
paratus. It  is  hardly  a  score  of  years,  however,  since 
a  well-equipped  gymnasium  has  conie  to  be  regarded 
as  an  essential  instrument  in  college  education.  Yale's 
gymnasium  was  not  built  till  1859,  and  Harvard's  and 
Amherst's  not  till  the  next  year.  Previously,  how- 
ever, the  Yale  and  Harvard  men  had  been  accustomed 
to  exercise  on  apparatus  erected  in  the  open  air.  The 
proportion  of  the  students  in  the  different  colleges 
who  avail  themselves  of  the  privileges  of  the  gymna- 
sium is  very  diverse.  In  Yale  about  one-half  of  the  men 
exercise  with  a  greater  or  less  degree  of  regularity  ; 
in  Harvard  about  two-thirds;  and  in  Amherst,  which, 
unlike  most  colleges,  makes  attendance  obligatory  for 
half  an  hour  on  four  days  of  the  week,  eighty-four  per 
cent  of  the  students  are  present  at  the  regular  exercises. 

Thie  results  that  flow  from  a  constant  and  careful 
practice  in  the  gymnasium  are  numerous  and  excel- 


ATHLETICS  AND  HEALTH.  89 

lent.  To  it  is  due  in  a  large  measure  the  improved 
bearing  and  better  health  of  the  present  genera- 
tion of  college  men.  The  typical  college  man  is 
no  longer  sallow-faced,  hollow-chested  and  weak- 
kneed,  but  of  strong  nerves,  muscular  and  vigor- 
ous. His  health  is  better,  his  strength  greater  than 
the  health  and  strength  of  the  average  New  York  or 
Boston  clerk  of  the  same  age.  His  freedom  from  sick- 
ness is  indicated  by  the  testimony  of  Dr.  Hitchcock, 
of  Amherst,  regarding  the  students  under  his  charge. 
"  Dr  Jarvis  says  that  the  amount  of  time  lost  by 
each  laborer  in  Europe  is  from  19  to  20  days  each 
year ;  and  the  Massachusetts  board  of  health  state 
that  in  1872,  in  this  commonwealth,  each  productive 
person  lost  13  days  by  sickness.  A  man  here  is  put 
on  the  sick-list  if  he  is  absent  more  than  two  consecu 
tive  days  from  all  college  exercises.  With  this  as 
a  comparison,  between  the  years  of  186 1-2  and 
iZ'j^-'j  inclusive,  23.30  per  cent  of  the  college  have 
been  entered  on  the  sick-list,  or,  every  student  in 
college  has  constructively  lost  2.64  days  each  year  by 
illness;  and  every  sick  student  has  averaged  11.36 
days  of  absence  from  college  duties.  During  this 
same  period  48,  or  three  each  year  on  an  average, 
have  left  college  from  physical  disabilities,  although 
16  of  these  have  returned  and  entered  again  their  own 
or  a  succeeding  class.     The  causes  which  produced 


90  AMERICAN  COLLEGES. 

these  removals  were  in  7  cases,  constitutional  debil- 
ity ;  in  6,  typhoid  fever ;  in  5,  consumptive  tenden- 
cies ;  in  6,  weak  or  injured  eyes,  and  single  cases  be- 
cause of  other  infirmities.  During  this  period  of  16 
years,  16  students  have  died  while  connected  with 
college — 10  from  typhoid  fever  or  its  results,  3  by 
violent  deaths  (all  of  them  during  vacation),  2  by  con- 
sumption, and  I  by  brain  fever." 

Although  Harvard  and  Amherst,  with  regular 
professors  of  physical  education  and  hygiene,  pay 
more  attention  to  the  gymnastic  exercise  of  their  stu- 
dents than  other  colleges,  results  of  similar  excellence 
flow  from  the  gymnastic  work  of  students  in  many 
institutions. 

But  the  effect  of  regular  practice  in  the  gymna- 
sium upon  the  mind  is  as  marked  as  its  effect  upon 
the  body.  It  is  a  commonplace  to  say  that  regular 
physical  exercise  is  a  condition  of  the  best  mental  ex- 
ertion ;  but  as  a  matter  of  fact  it  is  true  that  the 
best  students  are  most  conscientious  regarding  their 
exercise.  It  is  not  the  working  eight  or  ten  hours  a 
day  which  kills  students,  but  it  is  the  lack  of  exercise, 
the  late  hours  of  study  and  other  indiscretions.  But 
by  regular  work  in  the  gymnasium  for  a  half  or  three- 
quarters  an  hour  daily,  or  by  a  walk  of  three  or  four 
miles,  the  faithful  student  may  be  sure  of  keeping 
his  body  strong,  his  mind  clear,  and  his  rank  near  the 
head  of  his  class. 


JOURNALISM,  91 


CHAPTER  VII. 

JOURNALISM. 

It  was  a  hundred  and  ten  years  after  the  first 
newspaper  was  published  in  America  that,  as  far  as  I 
can  discover,  the  first  college  journal  appeared.  In 
i8cK)  the  Dartmouth  students  issued  a  paper  called 
"  The  Gazette,"  which  is  chiefly  memorable  as  con- 
taining in  1802-3  numerous  articles  by  Daniel 
Webster,  then  a  graduate  of  one  year's  standing. 
They  were  signed  "  Icarus,"  a  pseudonym  at  the  time 
unacknowledged,  but  which  a  few  years  later  Mr. 
Webster  confessed  belonged  to  himself.  Yale,  in  the 
course  of  the  present  century,  has  had  several  jour- 
nals, the  jnajority  of  which,  for  pecuniary  and  other 
reasons,  have  enjoyed  but  a  short  lease  of  life.  The 
first  was  "  The  Literary  Cabinet,"  an  eight-paged 
fortnightly,  whose  first  number  appeared  in  1806. 
The  publisher  announced  that  it  was  his  "  unalterable 
resolve  to  appropriate  the  pecuniary  profits  to  the 


92  AMERICAN  COLLEGES. 

education  of  poor  students  in  the  seminary,"  but, 
unfortunately  for  the  poor  students,  "  The  Cabinet " 
died  in  less  than  a  year  after  its  birth.  It  was  fol- 
lowed by  "  The  Athenaeum,"  "  The  Palladium,"  "  The 
Students'  Companion,"  "  The  Gridiron,"  and  other 
papers  which,  failing  each  in  turn  to  receive  the  liter 
ary  and  pecuniary  support  of  the  students,  seldom 
lived  for  more  than  a  twelvemonth.  But  in  1839  was 
established  "  The  Yale  Literary  Magazine,"  which  is 
the  oldest  living,  as  it  is  generally  recognized  to  be 
among  the  best,  of  college  journals.  It  was  and  is 
issued  monthly  during  the  college  year,  and  each 
number  consists  of  about  forty  pages  of  the  usual 
magazine  size.  Its  table  of  contents  is  made  up  of 
essays  chiefly  upon  literary  and  educational  topics, 
of  paragraphs  called  "  Notabilia,"  and  of  brief  notes 
upon  Yale  and  its  affairs,  styled  "  Memorabilia  Yalen- 
sia."  This  latter  admirable  department  was  established 
by  Mr.  D.  C.  Oilman  —  now  president  of  the  Johns 
Hopkins  University — during  his  editorship.  It  is  a 
daily  bulletin,  published  monthly,  of  doings  at  Yale, 
written  in  a  terse  and  graphic  style,  and  is  one  of  the 
most  interesting  features  of  an  interesting  college 
journal.  Its  five  editors  are  usually  considered  the 
best  literary  men  of  the  Senior  class,  and  an  election  to 
the  "  Lit.  Board  "  is  justly  esteemed  one  of  the  high- 
est honors  of  Yale  life.     In  the  course  of  its  forty-four 


JOURNALISM.  93 

years,  not  a  few  of  those  who  have  won  distinction  by 
literary  and  educational  work  have  served  an  appren- 
ticeship on  the  "  Lit."  Secretary  Evarts  was  one  of 
the  founders  of  the  magazine,  and  Donald  G.  Mitchell, 
of  Yale's  class  of  1841,  Doctor  J.  P.  Thompson,  of 
1838,  Senator  O.  S.  Ferry,  of  1844,  President  A.  D. 
White,  of  1853,  and  several  others  not  less  distin- 
guished have  been  among  its  editors.  It  is  still  an 
important  factor  in  Yale  life,  and  together  with  a 
similar  journal  published  by  the  Princeton  students, 
is  usually  regarded  as  of  the  best  of  college  publica- 
tions of  its  type. 

At  the  present  time  Yale  has,  besides  its  "  Liter- 
ary Magazine,"  two  fortnightly  papers,  the  "  Courant" 
and  the  "  Record,"  and  the  daily  "  News."  Edited 
by  boards  selected  from  and  in  part  by  the  students, 
they  are  devoted  to  the  discussion  of  college  affairs 
and  to  the  communication  to  graduates  and  the 
public  of  Yale  news. 

Although  Harvard's  papers  have  been  less  numer- 
ous than  Yale's,  they  indicate  (considered  as  a  whole) 
greater  literary  ability  and  have  had  greater  influence 
on  college  opinion.  The  first,  the  "  Harvard  Lyceum," 
appeared  in  18 10,  with  Edward  Everett  among  its 
eight  editors.  It  was  a  semi-monthly  literary  maga- 
zine, but  had,  Mr.  Everett  remarks  in  his  "Autobiogra- 
phy," no  permanent  literary  value.  Dying  a  natural 
death  before  the  close  of  the  year,  it  was  succeeded 


94 


AMERICAN  COLLEGES. 


in  1827  by  the  "  Harvard  Register,"  a  monthly  journal 
of  both  a  serious  and  a  humorous  character.  Among 
its  editors  were  the  late  President  Felton,  George  S. 
Hillard,  who  wrote  over  the  name  of  Sylvanus  Dash- 
wood,  and  Robert  C.  Winthrop,  whose  pseudonym  was 
Blank  Etcetera,  Sr.  But,  like  its  predecessor,  the 
financial  and  literary  remissness  of  the  students 
digged  for  it  an  early  grave.  In  1830  appeared  the 
"  Collegian,"  whose  brief  career  is  made  historical  by 
the  contributions  of  Oliver  Wendell  Holmes,  then  a  stu- 
dent in  the  Harvard  Law  School.  Young  Holmes 
wrote  for  it  about  a  score  of  poems ;  and  in  the  "  Col- 
legian "  appeared  "  The  Spectre  Pig,"  "  The  Dorches- 
ter Giant,"  "  The  Height  of  the  Ridiculous,"  and  other 
papers  which  have  not  been  included  in  the  standard 
editions  of  his  works.  The  "  Collegian  "  was,  after  a 
short  life,  buried  with  its  fathers,  and  "  Harvardiana," 
on  which  the  founder  of  the  "  Atlantic,"  and  the  editor 
of  the  "  North  American  Review  "  first  employed  his 
editorial  pen,  reigned  in  its  stead.  But  Mr.  Lowell's 
wit  and  wisdom  were  not  sufficient  for  lengthening 
the  "  Collegian's "  life  beyond  four  years.  About 
fifteen  years  after  its  decease,  appeared,  in  1854,  the 
"  Harvard  Magazine."  It  lived  with  varying  fortunes 
for  a  decade,  and  numbered  among  its  editors  several 
who  have  won  distinction  by  subsequent  literary  work. 
Frank  B.  Sanborn  and  Phillips  Brooks  were  two  of 


JOURNALISM.  95 

the  three  members  of  its  first  board.  But  in  1864  its 
publication  ceased ;  and  in  May,  1866,  the  first  number 
of  the  "  Harvard  Advocate  "  appeared  as  a  fortnight- 
ly. For  more  than  seventeen  years  the  literary  taste 
manifested  in  the  "  Advocate's  "  editorial  management, 
the  brightness  of  its  sketches,  and  the  intrinsic  merit 
and  wit  of  its  poetry  have  given  it  a  pre-eminent  place 
among  college  journals.  In  1873  a  rival  appeared  in 
the  "  Magenta,"  since  changed,  with  the  name  of  the 
college  color,  to  the  "  Crimson ; "  and  these  two 
papers  are  now  pursuing  in  generous  rivalry  a  most 
successful  course  of  college  journalism. 

Although  few  colleges  have  been  as  prolific  in 
newspaper  children  as  Yale  and  Harvard,  yet  the 
history  of  journalism  at  these  two  colleges  represents 
in  general  its  history  at  Princeton,  Williams,  Brown 
University,  and  the  older  colleges.  But  within  the 
last  decade  the  number  of  college  journals  has  greatly 
increased.  At  the  present  time,  it  is  estimated  that 
at  least  two  hundred  papers  and  magazines,  devoted 
to  college  interests  and  conducted  by  college  students, 
are  published.  The  usual  pattern  of  the  college  jour- 
nal is  a  sheet  of  twelve  pages,  of  the  size  of  the 
"Nation,"  well  printed  on  tinted  paper,  and  published 
either  fortnightly  or  monthly.  It  has  a  board  of  six  or 
ten  editors,  elected  either  by  the  preceding  board  or 
by  the  students,  or  by  both,  and  its  literary  support  is 


96  AMERICAN  COLLEGES. 

derived  from  the  members  of  the  college  as  well 
as  from  the  editorial  pen.  Its  subscribers  number 
about  five  hundred,  and  are  usually  equally  divided 
between  the  college  students  and  the  graduates. 
Perhaps  a  few  journals  print  a  thousand  copies,  but 
so  large  a  subscription  list  is  rare  ;  and  two  hundred 
and  fifty  copies  is  as  low  a  limit  as  is  commonly 
reached.  The  usual  price  of  a  fortnightly  is  $2.00 
for  the  college  year,  and  from  the  proceeds  of  its 
subscriptions  and  its  advertisements  it  usually  suc- 
ceeds in  meeting  the  expenses  of  publication.  But  a 
college  journal  seldom  is,  as  it  is  seldom  intended  to 
be,  a  source  of  pecuniary  income. 

There  are,  however,  certain  peculiar  developments 
in  the  history  of  college  publications  which  deserve 
notice.  One  of  these  developments  is  the  "  Univer- 
sity Quarterly."  The  "  University  Quarterly  "  was  un- 
doubtedly the  most  important  venture,  both  in  its 
intrinsic  importance  and  in  the  high  anticipations  it 
awakened,  ever  undertaken  in  college  journalism.  It 
was  a  quarterly  of  two  hundred  pages  started  at  New 
Haven  in  i860  by  Joseph  Cook  and  other  Yale  men, 
and  was  intended  "to  enlist,"  says  the  author  of 
*'  Four  Years  at  Yale,"  "  the  active  talent  of  young 
men  in  American,  and  so  far  as  possible  in  foreign, 
universities  in  the  discussion  of  questions  and  the 
communications  of  intelligence  of  common  interest  to 


JOURNALISM.  97 

Students."  Made  up  of  "  news,  local  sketches,  refor- 
matory thought  and  literary  essays  from  all  the  prin- 
cipal seats  of  classical  and  professional  learning,"  its 
chief  purpose  wa§  to  unite  "  the  sympathies  of  academ- 
ical,' collegiate  and  professional  students  throughout 
the  world."  Its  management  was  vested  in  editors 
and  correspondents  chosen  from  the  students  of 
different  colleges,  and  the  board  at  New  Haven,  the 
place  of  publication,  served  as  a  sort  of  managing 
editor.  At  one  time  no  less  than  thirty-three  colleges 
and  professional  schools  were  represented  by  the 
"  Quarterly,"  among  which  were,of  the  foreign  universi- 
ties, those  of  Berlin,  Halle,  Heidelberg  and  Cambridge. 
But  the  difficulty  of  controlling  so  large  and  hetero- 
geneous a  body  of  editors,  and  the  breaking  out  of  the 
war  absorbing  every  bit  of  undergraduate  enthusiasm, 
necessitated  the  "  Quarterly's "  suspension.  The 
last  of  its  eight  numbers  appeared  in  October,  1861. 
But  in  its  brief  career  it  was  of  much  value  in  uniting 
the  sympathies  of  different  colleges  and  in  communi- 
cating intelligence  regarding  the  higher  education  in 
this  and  foreign  countries.  The  interest  taken  in, 
and  the  amount  of  work  done  for,  the  journal  by  dif- 
ferent colleges  was  most  diverse.  Yale  was  undoubt- 
edly the  most  enthusiastic  in  its  support,  and  about 
one-third  of  the  literary  matter  was  contributed  by 
Yale  men.     Amherst  also  manifested  much  interest 

7 


98  '  AMERICAN  COLLEGES. 

in  the  "  Quarterly,"  and  of  her  students  Francis  A. 
Walker  was  a  faithful  contributor.  Harvard  gave 
comparatively  little  aid,  but  Mr.  Garrison,  now  of  the 
"  Nation,"  was  an  efficient  representative  of  the  Cam- 
bridge college.  The  average  edition  of  the  "  Quarterly" 
consisted  of  about  fourteen  hundred  copies ;  and  it 
appears  that  its  pecuniary  affairs  were  wound  up  with- 
out loss  to  its  conductors — a  somewhat  rare  circum- 
stance in  the  death  of  a  college  journal. 

Another  departure  from  the  usual  type  of  the 
college  journal  ts  represented  in  the  '*  Harvard  Lam- 
poon." The  "  Lampoon,"  is  a  college  "Punch,"  issued 
fortnightly,  of  a  dozen  pages  of  letter-press  and  as 
many  cartoons  setting  forth  humorous  scenes  chiefly 
in  college  and  social  life.  At  its  appearance  in  the 
spring  of  1876,  its  pen  and  pencil  were  confined  to 
the  college,  but  at  the  opening  of  the  academic  year 
of  1877-78,  it  enlarged  its  sphere;  and  for  a  year 
its  purpose  was  "  to  reproduce  to  the  life  the  *  quips 
and  cranks  and  wanton  wiles'  of  the  free-born 
American  citizen  as  well  as  those  of  the  typical  stu- 
dent, so  that  wretches  who  never  heard  of  Harvard 
will  be  able  to  smile  at  his  jests  and  weep  over  his 
pathos.  Whenever  in  future  any  question  of  such 
general  concern  as  the  natural  depravity  of  the  Spitz 
dog  or  the  sanitary  efficacy  of  azure  glass  is  endanger- 
ing the  relations  of  parents  and  children  throughout 


JOURNALISM.  99 

the  land  ;  if  the  mayor  of  Boston  becomes  desirous  of 
having  the  horse-cars  as  well  the  ferries  free  ;  or  the 
ladies  of  Washington  seek  to  restrain  Mehemet  Ali 
Pacha  from  drinking  ice-water  when  he  accepts  the 
hospitalities  of  the  nation, — Lampy  will  have  his  little 
say  on  the  subject,  and  his  pen  and  pencil  will  not 
be  idle."  The  success  that  attended  "  Lampy's " 
efEort,  in  view  of  the  usual  fate  of  American  humor- 
ous journals,  is  good  evidence  of  the  excellence  of  its 
work.  Many  of  its  bon  mots  and  verses  have  been 
exceedingly  clever,  and  some  of  its  cartoons  are 
worthy  of  Du  Maurier.  It  has  been,  as  a  whole, 
remarkably  free  from  every  feature  open  to  objection 
in  point  of  moral  taste  ;  and  by  the  general,  as  well 
as  the  college,  press  it  has  been  constantly  received 
with  much  favor. 

The  purposes  which  the  college  paper  accom- 
plishes in  American  college  life  are  numerous  and 
important.  It  is,  in  the  first  place,  a  mirror  of  under- 
graduate sentiment,  and  is  either  scholarly  or  vulgar, 
frivolous  or  dignified,  as  are  the  students  who  edit  and 
publish  it.  A  father,  therefore,  debating  where  to 
educate  his  son,  would  get  a  clearer  idea  of  the  type 
of  moral  and  intellectual  character  which  a  college 
forms  in  her  students  from  a  year's  file  of  their  fort- 
nightly paper  than  from  her  annual  catalogue  or  the 
private   letters   of  her  professors.     To   the   college 


lOO  AMERICAN  COLLEGES. 

officers,  also,  it  is  an  indicator  of  the  pulse  of  college 
opinion.  The  discussion  of  all  questions  regarding 
the  varied  interests  of  the  college — the  dissatisfaction 
with  Professor  A 's  method  of  conducting  recita- 
tions, or  with  the  librarian's  new  code,  or  with  the 
advance  in  the  annual  price  of  college  rooms — is  sure 
to  voice  itself  in  the  college  paper.  Indeed  the  spirit 
of  rebellion  among  college  men  often  flows  out  into 
ink,  when,  if  they  had  no  paper  in  which  to  relate 
their  grievances,  it  would — as  it  now  too  often  does — 
manifest  itself  in  boyish  mobs  and  "  gunpowder  plots." 
The  college  journal  is,  indeed,  as  a  distinguished  pro- 
fessor recently  said  of  the  paper  of  his  college,  "  the 
outstanding  member  of  the  college  faculty." 

But  the  paper  reflects  the  moral  and  intellectual 
condition  of  its  college,  not  only  for  the  officers  and 
patrons  of  its  own  college,  but  also  for  the  members 
of  other  colleges.  The  Harvard  papers,  for  instance, 
represent  Harvard  life  to  other  colleges,  just  as 
American  newspapers  represent  American  life  to 
Europeans.  Each  paper  has  a  list  of  some  fifty  or 
sixty  "  exchanges,"  which,  after  being  examined  by 
the  "  exchange  editor,"  are  usually  placed  in  the  pub- 
lic reading-room  for  the  use  of  the  students.  It  is 
also  the  custom,  to  a  considerable  and  a  growing 
extent,  for  the  best  journals  to  devote  at  least  a  page 
to  news  from  other  colleges.     These  items  of  news 


JOURNALISM,  lOi 

are  usually  culled  from  the  "  exchanges,"  but  in  some 
cases  they  are  directly  furnished  by  correspondents 
engaged  for  the  purpose.  The  influence  of  college 
papers  in  thus  promoting  inter-collegiate  friendship, 
and  in  exhibiting  the  methods  of  instruction  and 
government,  is  of  great  service  to  the  cause  of  higher 
education. 

Another  important  purpose  which  the  college 
journal  fulfils  is  in  informing  the  graduate  of  the 
changes  through  which  his  alma  mater  passes ;  it  is 
a  fortnightly  letter  from  his  college  home.  Its  alumni 
column  notes  the  chief  events  in  tl.\e  lives  of  all  grad- 
uates ;  and  the  whole  paper  helps  to  keep  his  college 
memories  green.  About  half  of  the  list  of  subscribers 
to  many  of  the  journals  is  made  up  of  the  names 
of  graduates,  and  graduates  not  infrequently  contrib- 
ute articles,  especially  upon  athletic  topics. 

The  college  paper  also  serves  as  an  admirable 
training  school  for  professional  journalists.  Quick- 
ness of  thought  and  of  action,  coolness  of  judgment 
and  of  purpose,  and  impartiality  which  Mr.  Hudson, 
in  his  History  of  Journalism,  suggests  as  the  essentials 
of  a  good  journalist,  receive  excellent  discipline  on  the 
college  editorial  board.  The  college  journal  is  the 
best  school  of  journalism,  outside  of  its  own  curricu- 
lum, which  the  college  affords.  The  merit  of  their 
editorial  work  in  college  has  won  for  not  a  few  stu- 


1 02  A  ME  RICA  N  COLLEGES. 

dents,  on  their  graduation,  a  position  on  the  staff  of 
a  New  York  or  Boston  paper. 

The  character  of  much  of  the  writing  in  the  best 
college  papers  is  most  praiseworthy.  The  topics  are 
usually  of  immediate  interest  to  the  college  world,  and 
are  treated  with  directness,  perspicuity  and  consider- 
able energy  of  style.  Written,  as  many  of  the  articles 
are,  under  the  pressure  of  college  work,  they  indicate 
a  clearness  of  thought  and  a  facility  of  execution 
worthy,  in  certain  cases,  of  experienced  journalists. 
But  in  the  college  magazines,  which  are  published 
quarterly  or  monthly,  these  excellences  are  not  as 
marked  as  in  the  fortnightly  or  weekly  journal.  The 
subjects  of  the  leading  articles  in  the  magazines  sel- 
dom possess  immediate  interest,  and  the  style  is  often 
labored  and  oratorical.  In  topic  and  treatment  they 
are  not  dissimilar  to  the  forensics  and  theses  which  a 
senior  writes  for  his  professor  of  rhetoric.  But  the 
editorial  paragraphs  in  the  quarterlies  are  clear,  pointed 
and  interesting. 

The  wit  and  humor,  also,  that  abound  in  the  col- 
lege journals  are  of  a  most  commendable  and  genuine 
character.  College  life,  it  is  needless  to  say,  is  fer- 
tile, in  comparison  with  business  or  professional  life, 
.  in  the  ludicrous ;  and  many  of  the  witticisms  that  ap- 
pear in  the  college  papers  are  reports  of  the  table- 
talk  of  an  eating  club,  or  of  the  happy  retorts  of  a 


JOURNALISM,  103 

professor  to  a  jesting  student.  Not  a  few  humorous 
verses,  also,  bright  and  rolHcking,  have  come  from 
college  pens.  One  of  the  earliest,  as  well  as  one  of 
the  best,  parodies  ever  published  in  this  country  ap- 
peared in  the  "  Harvard  Lyceum,"  in  the  first  years 
of  college  journalism.  Joel  Barlow's  "Columbiad" 
was  the  object  of  its  pleasantry  ;  and,  written  by  Ed- 
ward Everett  in  18 10,  it  has  both  a  literary  and  an 
historic  interest.  The  following  extract  describes 
*^  the  vexations  of  a  person  who  finds  in  the  midst  of 
a  dance,  that  his  hose  are  swinging  from  their  moor- 
ings : " 

"  And  while  he  dances  in  vivacious  glee 
He  feels  his  stockings  loosening  from  his  knee  ; 
The  slippery  silk  in  mind-benumbing  rounds 
Descends  in  folds  at  all  his  nimble  bounds. 

***♦*» 
Thy  partner  wonders  at  the  change.     No  more 
She  sees  thee  bound  elastic  from  the  floor  ; 
No  more  she  sees  thine  easy  graceful  air: — 
Each  step  is  measured  with  exactest  care." 

Of  the  many  bright  verses  that  have  of  late  years 
appeared  in  the  college  papers,  the  following  from  the 
"  Harvard  Advocate"  of  May,  1870,  are  pre-eminent. 
They  were  written  by  Mr.  Charles  A.  Prince  of  Bos- 
ton, when  a  Harvard  student,  and  are  addressed  "  To 
Pupils  in  Elocution  :  " 


I04 


AMERICAN  COLLEGES. 


"  The  human  lungs  reverberate  sometimes  with  great  velocity 
When  windy  individuals  indulge  in  much  verbosity, 
They  have  to  twirl  the  glottis  sixty  thousand  times  a  minute, 
And  push  and  punch  the  diaphragm  as  though  the  deuce  were 
in  it. 

CHORUS. 

The  pharynx  now  goes  up ; 
The  larynx  with  a  slam, 
Ejects  a  note 
From  out  the  throat, 
Pushed  by  the  diaphragm." 

But,  although  the  humorous  side  of  college  life  is 
thus  developed  in  the  best  of  the  papers,  their  moral 
character  and  influence  are  excellent.  They  are  re- 
markably free  from  vulgarity.  Slang,  though  not  in- 
frequent in  college  conversation,  seldom  creeps  into 
their  columns.  Their  hatred  of  every  species  of  sham 
and  deceit  is  most  marked.  Their  love  for  what- 
ever they  regard  as  their  own  honor  or  that  of  their 
college  is  genuine ;  and  the  respect  they  constantly, 
as  a  class,  manifest  for  religion  is  a  fit  model  for  the 
imitation  of  certain  daily  journals.  The  college  paper 
is,  therefore,  in  respect  to  moral  character,  usually 
rather  above  than  below  the  level  of  college  sentiment, 
and  its  moral  influence,  therefore,  is  elevating. 

But  to  these  excellent  purposes  and  characteris- 
tics of  the  college  paper  are  joined  two  evils  which 
must  be  weighed  in  forming  any  just  estimate  of  its 


JOURNALISM.  105 

worth  and  usefulness.  The  first  evil  is  that  the  stu- 
dent's editorial  duties  are  liable  to  exhaust  his  ener- 
gies, and  thus  to  unfit  him  for  his  regular  college 
work.  Every  college  intends  to  provide  her  men 
with  sufficient  work  to  monopolize  their  time  and 
strength  ;  if,  therefore,  the  paper  absorbs  much  of  the 
student-editor's  attention,  he  is  compelled  to  neglect 
his  Greek  and  mathematics.  The  evil  of  this  course  is 
obvious.  It  is  the  wellnigh  universal  experience  that 
the  continued  neglect  of  the  regular  -  college  studies 
for  the  sake  of  the  college  paper  is  seldom  helpful, 
and  is  often  disastrous,  to  scholarship  and  intellect- 
ual discipline.  A  college  editorship  is  an  excellent 
avocation,  but  a  very  bad  vocation. 

The  other  danger  to  which  the  young  editor  is  ex- 
posed is  that  of  forming  a  faulty  style.  The  rapid 
writing  which  he  is  sometimes  compelled  to  do  culti- 
vates superficiality  of  thought,  and  the  necessity 
under  which  he  often  labors,  of  "  filling  up  space," 
fosters  bombast,  slovenliness,  and  looseness  of  expres- 
sion. He  is  frequently  placed  in  emergencies  most 
opposed  to  the  cultivation  of  that  patient  and  painstak- 
ing habit  of  composition  which  it  is  the  especial  duty  of 
a  young  writer  to  cherish.  But  neither  this  evil  nor 
that  of  a  neglect  of  college  work  is  necessarily  in- 
herent in  college  journalism;  a  wise  discretion  can 
avoid  them. 


I06  AMERICAN  COLLEGES. 

The  college  paper  is  essentially  an  American  pro- 
duction. The  German  universities  have  no  publica- 
tion of  the  sort,  and  the  English  universities  of  Oxford 
and  Cambridge  have  no  journal  that  precisely  corre- 
sponds to  the  American  college  paper.  The  *'  Oxford 
and  Cambridge  Undergraduates'  Journal "  is  devoted 
to  the  interests  of  the  Oxford  and  Cambridge  stu- 
dents, containing  sketches  of  sermons  preached  in 
their  pulpits,  and  reports  of  their  scholastic  and 
athletic  affairs ;  but  it  is  both  edited  and  published  by 
those  not  connected  with  the  universities.  A  few 
papers  are,  however,  issued  by  the  English  students. 
Their  sphere  is  usually  more  restricted  to  the  institu- 
tion whose  name  they  bear  than  are  the  American 
college  journals ;  but  in  other  respects  they  are  not 
dissimilar. 

It  remains  to  note  the  latest  development  in 
American  college  journalism.  It  is  the  daily  paper. 
The  first  in  the  order  of  establishment  was  the  Yale 
"  News,"  now  in  its  fifth  volume  ;  the  second  the 
Harvard  "  Echo,"  a  paper  which  has  lately  been 
absorbed  in  the  "  Herald."  The  college  daily  paper 
is  emphatically  a  news  paper.  Its  comments  on  the 
news  of  its  college  are  usually  brief,  but  its  presen- 
tation of  the  news  is  full  and  fresh. 


FELLOWSHIPS.  107 


CHAPTER  VIII. 


FELLOWSHIPS. 


College  fellowships,  or  post-graduate  scholar- 
ships, are  primarily  institutions  of  Oxford  and  Cam- 
bridge. The  twenty  colleges  of  which  Oxford  uni- 
versity is  composed  possess  three  hundred  scholarships 
and  nearly  an  equal  number  of  fellowships.  The 
purposes  which  a  fellowship  is  designed  to  accom- 
plish, are  chiefly  four  :  it  is  a  reward  for  high  scholar- 
ship.; it  serves  as  a  ladder  for  the  indigent  student 
to  rise  by  ;  it  is  a  recompense  for  the  instruction  which 
the  fellow  is  required  to  give  ;  and  the  holders  of  fel- 
lowships form  the  governing  board  of  the  college. 
The  scholars  and  fellows  are  elected,  after  a  competi- 
tive examination,  by  the  officers  of  the  college,  and 
retain  their  foundation  for  various  lengths  of  time. 
An  Oxford  fellowship  can,  with  few  exceptions,  be 
held  for  life  ;  but  marriage,  ecclesiastical  preferment 
or  accession  to  property  of  a  certain  amount  usually 


I08  AMERICAN  COLLEGES. 

compels  him  to  surrender  his  foundation.  At  Cam- 
bridge, however,  certain  fellowships  are  held  for  a 
limited  number  of  years,  as  those  in  Trinity  College 
for  ten,  and  those  in  Queen's  for  seven.  An  Oxford 
scholarship,  too,  can  seldom  be  retained  for  more  than 
five  years. 

The  annual  income  of  an  Oxford  scholarship 
varies  from  £,6q  to  £,\2^  ;  but  the  average  is  about 
;£ioo.  The  annual  income  of  an  Oxford  fellowship 
is,  however,  seldom  less  than  ;£200  and  seldom  more 
than  ;£300.  With  an  annual  income  of  ;£25o,ooo 
(more  than  double  the  income  of  Harvard  university 
in  all  its  departments),Oxford  University  expends  each 
year  ;£ 3 5,000  in  scholarships,  and  ;£90,ooo,  in  fellow- 
ships. 

The  conditions  under  which  the  fellow  enjoys  his 
annuity  are  usually  very  few  and  liberal.  He  is  at 
liberty  to  pursue  almost  any  line  of  intellectual  labor. 
In  many  cases  his  position  is  a  mere  sinecure,  and 
involves  no  actual  work.  In  other  cases  it  is,  and  in 
all  cases  may  be,  most  effectually  used  for  the  ad- 
vancement of  the  higher  learning  ;  but  too  often  the 
holder  of  a  life  fellowship  at  Oxford  or  Cambridge 
is  a  mere  annuitant,  and  his  attainments  are  of  little 
service  either  to  the  university  from  which  he  annu- 
ally receives  a  thousand  dollars,  or  to  English  scholar- 
ship and  culture.   . 


FELLOWSHIPS. 


109 


Unlike  Oxford  and  Cambridge,  the  German  uni- 
versities have  no  system  of  fellowships.  Each  univer- 
sity is,  however,  possessed  of  a  certain  number  of 
"  exhibitions,"  ranging  in  value  from  sixty  to  three 
hundred  dollars,  for  the  benefit  of  needy  students. 
Each  needy  student  also  avails  himself  of  the  two 
public  lectures  a  week,  which  a  professor  is  required 
to  give,  and  is,  in  many  cases,  allowed  to  attend  all 
the  lectures  without  payment  of  fees.  But  to  the 
student  who  has  taken  his  degree  and  is  still  pursuing 
his  studies,  the  German  university  has  neither  fellow- 
ship nor  scholarship  to  offer. 

The  pecuniary  privileges  which  the  American 
college  offers  its  students  for  post-graduate  study  are, 
in  comparison  with  those  provided  by  the  English 
universities,  very  meager.  Of  our  three  hundred 
colleges,  Yale,  Princeton,  Harvard  and  the  Johns 
Hopkins  University  are  the  principal  ones  that 
offer  fellowships  for  the  prosecution  of  advanced 
learning. 

Yale  has  seven  fellowships,  or  scholarships,  the  an- 
nual value  of  which  ranges  from  forty-six  to  (at  least) 
six  hundred  dollars.  Two  are  of  the  larger  amount. 
One  fellowship  is  tenable  for  five  years,  but  the 
others  for  not  more  than  three.  High  scholarship 
and  good  character  are  the  general  conditions  for  ob- 
taining these  honors  ;  and  the  prosecution  of  a  non- 


I  lo  AMERICAN  COLLEGES. 

professional  course  of  study,  as  science,  literature  or 
philology,  in  New  Haven,  under  the  direction  of  the 
college  faculty,  is  the  general  condition  for  retaining 
them. 

Princeton,  which  claims  to  be  ''  taking  the  lead 
in  encouraging  advanced  learning  by  means  of  fellow- 
ships," now  has  six,  with  expectations  of  an  early 
increase  in  their  number  and  income.  They  are 
awarded  by  competition,  which  is  open  to  any  mem- 
ber of  the  graduating  class,  and  are  held  for  a  single 
year.  The  fellow  pursues  his  studies  in  either  phi- 
losophy, science,  mathematics,  classics,  history  or 
modern  languages,  according  as  his  fellowship  is  de- 
signed. The  annual  income  of  three  of  these  founda- 
tions is  six  hundred  dollars  each,  and  of  three,  one-half 
this  amount.  During  the  last  eleven  years,  fellows 
have  been  pursuing  advanced  studies  in  philosophy, 
philology,  and  science,  both  at  Princeton  and  at  the 
English  and  German  universities.  The  introduction 
of  the  fellowship  system  at  Princeton  is  due  in  the 
main  to  the  efforts  of  its  president,  Dr.  McCosh.  It 
is  substantially  the  same  system  which  he  drew  up  in 
1 860-61  for  the  Scottish  universities.  "  I  have,"  he 
writes  me  recently,  "  only  made  a  beginning,  but 
a  good  beginning.    We  are  really  producing  scholars." 

Harvard,  has  eight  fellowships,  but  of  some- 
what  larger  value    than   those    of    her   sister   col- 


FELLOWSHIPS.  Ill 

leges.  Four  have  an  annual  income  of  about  six 
hundred  dollars  and  four  of  at  least  eight  hundred 
dollars  each.  The  latter  are  "  travehng  fellowships," 
and  the  holder,  seldom  remaining  in  this  country,  usu- 
ally spends  the  alloted  period  of  three  years  in  some 
German  university.  One  of  these  fellowships,  it  is 
worthy  of  note,  was  founded  in  1871  by  George  Ban- 
croft. A  little  more  than  sixty  years  ago,  Edward 
Everett  suggested  to  President  Kirkland  that  "  it 
would  be  well  to  send  some  young  graduate  of  Harvard 
to  study  for  a  while  at  some  German  university." 
The  choice  of  the  president  fell  upon  young  Ban- 
croft, who,  then  in  his  eighteenth  year,  proceeded  at 
once  to  Gottingen.  It  is  interesting  to  note  that  the 
founder  of  what  is  doubtless  the  most  valuable  fellow- 
ship in  any  of  our  colleges  was  the  first  Ameri- 
can who  studied  in  a  German  university  under  the 
patronage  of  an  American  college.  The  election 
to  a  fellowship  at  Harvard,  as  at  every  American 
college,  is  a  fitting  crown  to  a  successful  college 
course  ;  and  only  that  graduate  of  the  college  or 
professional  school  is  elected  to  the  honor  whose 
scholarly  attainments  are  conclusive  proof  of  special 
aptitude  for  research  in  one  of  the  branches  of  higher 
learning.  The  fellow,  before  his  election  by  the 
academic  faculty,  suggests  the  department  in  which 
he  wishes  to  study,  and  it  usually  proves  to  be  that 


1 12  AMERICAN  COLLEGES. 

in  which  by  his  college  work  he  has  become  profit 
cient.  At  the  present  time  Harvard  has  fellows  resi- 
dent both  in  Cambridge  and  in  Germany  engaged  in 
the  study  of  history,  zoology,  mathematics,  the  modern 
languages,  and  other  departments  of  advanced  knowl- 
edge. 

It  is,  however,  the  new  university  at  Baltimore 
which  offers  the  most  generous  encouragement  for  the 
pursuit  of  the  higher  learning.  The  Johns  Hopkins 
University,  with  an  endowment  of  three  and  a  half 
millions,  provides  twenty  fellowships,  each  of  an  an- 
nual value  of  five  hundred  dollars.  They  are  be- 
stowed upon  "  advanced  scholars  from  any  place  "  for 
excellence  in  one  of  the  ten  departments  of  philology, 
literature,  history,  ethics  and  metaphysics,  political 
science,  mathematics,  engineering,  physics,  chemistry, 
and  natural  history.  The  object  of  the  foundation 
is,  in  the  words  of  the  trustees,  "  to  give  to  scholars 
of  promise  the  opportunity  to  prosecute  further 
studies,  under  favorable  circumstances,  and  likewise 
to  open  a  career  for  those  who  propose  to  follow  the 
pursuit  of  literature  or  science."  The  chief  condition 
of  the  assignment,  besides  a  liberal  education  and  an 
upright  character,  is  a  "decided  proclivity  towards  a 
special  line  of  study."  With  these  designs  and  condi- 
tions, the  popularity  of  the  scheme  proved  to  be  so 
great  that  at  the  first  assignme/it  in  1876  there  were 


FELLOWSHIPS.  II3 

one  hundred  and  fifty-two  applicants,  representing  for- 
ty-six different  colleges.  From  this  large  number 
twenty  were  selected  as  fellows,  who  at  once  began  to 
prosecute  special  studies  under  the  immediate  patron- 
age of  the  university.  The  fellowships  are,  as  at 
present  constituted,  renewable  to  the  same  holder  for 
successive  years,  and  his  progress  is  tested  from  time 
to  time  by  the  writing  of  a  thesis,  delivery  of  a  lec- 
ture, or  by  some  similar  method.  Its  fellowship  system 
has,  like  the  university,  been  established  for  only  seven 
years,  and  its  results  are  necessarily  somewhat  uncer- 
tain. But  President  Oilman  writes,  "  the  scheme  is 
working  admirably,  and  if  I  could  tell  you  just  what 
each  one  of  the  holders  of  fellowships  is  doing  it 
would,  I  think,  establish  the  wisdom  of  our  founda- 
tions." 

The  purposes  which  the  fellowship  system,  as  it 
is  now  being  established  in  American  colleges,  is  in- 
tended to  serve,  are  the  advancement  of  scholarship 
and  the  promotion  of  original  thought  and  investiga- 
tion. A  fellowship  in  an  American  college  is  not, 
as  often  it  is  in  the  English  universities,  a  sinecure. 
It  is  not  simply  the  reward  for  success  in  passing  a 
series  of  examinations.  It  is  not  merely  the  ladder 
by  which  the  student  is  to  climb  to  distinction.  But 
it  is  a  privilege  by  the  fit  use  of  which  he  can  advance 
the  higher  learning  and  enlarge  the  boundaries  of, 

8 


1 14  AMERICAN  COLLEGES. 

human  knowledge.  The  fellowship  allows  the  young 
graduate,  possessing  genius  for  a  certain  line  of  inves- 
tigation but  not  possessing  the  pecuniary  means  for 
his  support,  to  pursue  studies,  the  result  of  which 
shall  honor  not  only  him  but  also  scholarship.  It 
permits  the  penniless  student,  interested  in  philoso- 
phy, to  pursue  his  philosophy,  and  the  student  of 
science  to  continue  his  chemical  or  zoological  investi- 
gations. Without  its  aid  the  one  would  be  obliged, 
for  example,  to  devote  his  powers  to  professional 
studies  for  the  ministry,  and  the  other  to  medicine, 
professions  for  which  each  feels  he  is  by  nature  unfit. 
The  fellowship  system,  therefore,  in  American  col- 
leges is  the  most  direct  aid  to  the  higher  scholarship 
and  to  culture. 

Although  the  system  of  fellowships  at  Oxford  and 
Cambridge  has  not  advanced  English  learning  as  it 
might  and  ought,  yet  the  results  it  has  achieved  are 
of  incalculable  worth.  The  large  majority  of  English 
scholars  of  distinction  have  for  a  longer  or  a  shorter 
period  pursued  their  studies  with  the  assistance  which 
a  fellowship  provided.  Max  Miiller  and  Jowett, 
Rawlinson  and  Stubbs,  Milman  and  Bryce,  Mansel  and 
the  Newmans  are  among  the  hundreds  of  English 
scholars  hardly  less  distinguished  than  they  who 
have  held,  or  still  hold,  fellowships  at  Oxford.  Re- 
sults of   equal   and   even   greater   excellence   would 


FELLO  WSHIPS,  1 1 5 

follow  the  general  introduction  of  the  system  of  fel 
lowships  into  American  colleges. 

For  American  wealth  to  establish  fellowships  in 
American  colleges  every  inducement  is  presented. 
The  founding  of  a  new  college  at  the  west  with  a 
slender  endowment  may  render  but  slight  aid  to 
higher  education,  but  the  establishment  of  fellowships 
at  Harvard,  Yale,  Amherst,  Princeton,  Oberlin,  or  any 
well  organized  college,  must  greatly  advance  it.  Hen- 
ry IV.,  Edward  VI.,  Queen  Mary,  Elizabeth,  and 
Charles  I.  established  fellowships  at  Oxford.  If  only 
American  wealth  would  follow  such  precedents, 
American  scholarship  might  in  the  course  of  a  gen- 
eration surpass  English,  and  in  the  course  of  two 
generations,  compete  with  German, scholarship. 

In  the  foundation  and  administration  of  fellow- 
ships in  our  colleges,  however,  the  strict  observance 
of  certain  rules  is  necessary  to  the  attainment  of 
their  highest  usefulness.  It  is  the  failure  to  observe 
the  first  two  of  the  three  following  suggestions  that 
has  brought  the  English  fellowship  system  into  con- 
siderable disrepute  among  certain  classes  of  English 
society. 

I.  The  fellowship  should  not  be  bestowed  merely 
as  a  reward  for  high  scholarship,  but  principally  as  the 
means  for  prosecuting  original  research  in  a  compara- 
tively new  department  of  study. 


Il6  AMERICAN  COLLEGES, 

2.  It  should  seldom  be  held  for  more  than  three,  or, 
at  most,  for  more  than  four  years.  The  progress 
which  the  fellow  makes  in  this  length  of  time  enables 
him,  with  but  little  outlay  of  time  or  strength,  to  give 
instruction  sufficient  to  provide  for  his  pecuniary 
needs.  The  fellowship  in  such  a  case  should  at  once 
be  reassigned. 

3.  If  the  fellow  resides  in  Germany,  as  he  usually 
will,  he  should  be  made  a  sort  of  corresponding  mem- 
ber of  his  college  faculty.  The  information  which 
he  could  transmit  regarding  the  educational  move- 
ments occurring  in  the  German  gymnasia  and  univer- 
sities would  prove  of  much  service  to  American  col- 
leges and  American  scholarship. 


CHOICE  OF  A  COLLEGE. 


117 


CHAPTER  IX. 

CHOICE    OF   A   COLLEGE. 

The  most  important  question  concerning  his 
education  which  the  student  decides  before  entering 
upon  a  collegiate  course  of  study  relates  to  the  choice 
of  a  college.  This  question  he  decides  sometimes  in 
accordance  with  the  preferences  of  friends,  frequently 
from  caprice,  and  often  by  the  trivial  reasons  of  the 
nearness  of  a  college  to  his  home  or  of  the  personal 
friendship  of  one  of  its  professors.  There  are,  how- 
ever, several  principles  of  absolute  worth  which  the 
student,  selecting  a  college,  may  use  as  the  tests  of 
the  excellence  of  a  college. 

The  first  of  these  principles  is  the  quality  of  the 
instruction  which  a  college  offers.  That  college 
whose  instruction  is  the  most  thorough  and  critical, 
the  most  advanced  in  respect  to  the  extent  of  the 
subjects  studied,  that  makes  the  severest  demands 
upon  the  student's  mental  strength  and  that  arouses  his 


1 18  AMERICAN  COLLEGES. 

scholarly  enthusiasm  to  the  highest  point  is,  so  far 
forth,  the  best  college.  Such  instruction  attains  most 
effectively  the  chief  purpose  of  any  scheme  of  educa- 
tion— the  discipline  of  the  mind. 

The  second  principle  is  the  amount  of  the  instruc- 
tion. If  a  college  has  a  prescribed  course,  without 
optional  studies,  the  amount  of  the  instruction  which 
it  provides  cannot  influence  the  choice  of  the  student, 
for  this  amount  seldom  varies  from  fifteen  hours  of 
recitations  a  week  to  each  class.  But  if  a  college  has 
an  elective  system  the  quantity  of  its  instruction 
may  seriously  influence  his  choice.  For  the  elective 
system  greatly  increases  the  number  and  extent  of 
the  studies  which  he  may  pursue.  To  the  student, 
therefore,  who  wishes  to  take  up  a  course  of  study 
most  directly  preparatory  for  a  certain  profession,  or 
who  is  conscious  of  possessing  an  aptitude  for  certain 
departments  of  study, the  amount  of  the  instruction 
forms  a  most  important  element  of  choice.  The  stu- 
dent, moreover,  who  on  entering  college  is  uncon- 
scious of  possessing  a  particular  fitness  for  a  special 
line  of  intellectual  work,  will  probably  awaken  by  the 
close  of  his  second  year  to  the  consciousness  of  this 
possession.  To  the  large  majority,  therefore,  of  all 
men  who  are  selecting  a  college,  the  amount  of  the 
instruction  afforded,  forms  an  important  principle  of 
choice. 


CHOICE  OF  A  COLLEGE.  \  19 

A  third  principle  is  represented  by  the  moral  and 
religious  influence  of  a  college.  The  peril  of  the  col- 
legian is  not  that  he  will  fail  to  have  sufficient  tempta- 
tions to  resist  to  form  a  strong  character,  but  that  a 
torrent  of  them  will  sweep  him  into  moral  ruin.  That 
college,  therefore,  of  the  purest  moral  and  noblest 
religious  atmosphere  should,  ceteris  paribus,  be  se- 
lected. 

Another  principle  is  indicated  in  the  expense  of 
a  college  course.  With  the  wealthy  student  this 
consideration  has  but  little  weight ;  but  with  the 
poor  it  is  frequently  the  most  important  factor  in  his 
choice.  To  him  the  question  appeals  in  two  ways : 
he  may  select  a  college  at  which  the  expenses  are 
small,  but  which  affords  no  pecuniary  aid ;  or  a  col- 
lege the  cost  of  whose  education  is  relatively  great, 
but  which  by  its  scholarships  and  beneficiary  funds 
makes  his  expenses  as  small  (or  smaller)  as  at  the 
former  college.  The  decision  between  these  two 
methods  will,  of  course,  be  determined  by  other  con- 
siderations than  the  pecuniary. 

The  four  principles  of  the  quality  and  the  amount 
of  the  instruction,  of  the  moral  and  religious  influence, 
and  of  the  expenses  of  a  college,  the  student,  in  his 
selection,  should  apply  with  critical  exactness,  and  in 
accordance  with  the  result  of  the  application  should 
generally  make  his  choice.     Yet  there  are  other  con- 


120  AMERICAN  COLLEGES. 

siderations  which  do  and  ought  to  weigh  in  his  de 
cision. 

Among  these  principles  of  minor  importance  are 
the  reputation  of  a  college,  its  location  in  respect  to 
health,  natural  scenery  and  general  society,  the  num- 
ber of  its  students,  and  the  advantages  it  affords 
by  means  of  fellowships  for  post-graduate  study. 
The  alumnus  of  an  old  and  well-reputed  college  has  a 
presumption  in  favor  of  the  excellence  of  his  educa- 
tion which  the  graduate  of  a  new  and  unknown  col- 
lege cannot  enjoy.  This  presumption  holds  good  till 
actual  trial  proves  (as  it  ofttimes  will  prove)  that  the 
training  of  the  latter  graduate  is  superior  to  that  of 
the  former.  The  hygienic  influences  of  the  location 
of  the  vast  majority  of  the  colleges  is  excellent ;  and 
the  only  elements  of  choice  to  be  compared  are  the 
advantages  and  disadvantages  of  a  residence  of  four 
years  near  the  ocean  or  in  the  interior.  But  the 
natural  scenery  encircling  the  colleges  is  most  diverse 
in  beauty  and  picturesqueness.  That  surrounding  the 
country  colleges  is  of  course  more  varied  and  sublime 
than  that  which  can  be  enjoyed  near  or  in  the  city. 
But  in  respect  to  society  the  opposite  condition  pre- 
vails. The  society  open  to  the  student  of  the  city  col- 
leges is,  as  a  rule,  far  superior  to  that  afforded  in 
country-college  towns ;  and  the  advantage  of  larger 
libraries,  of  art  galleries,  of  music  and  the  drama  are 


CHOICE  OF  A  COLLEGE.  121 

Open  to  the  city,  but  denied  to  the  country,  student. 
The  size  of  a  college  should  also  qualify  to  some 
extent  the  choice.  A  college  of  several  hundred 
students  offers  the  most  favorable  opportunities  for  re- 
moving eccentricities  of  mental  habit  and  of  manners, 
and  for  obtaining  the  highest  and  most  liberal  point 
of  view  for  judging  all  questions  presented  for  consid- 
eration. It  permits  the  student,  as  Bacon  suggests 
in  respect  to  travel,  to  "  suck  the  experiences  of 
many,"  which  is  impossible  in  a  small  college.  Yet, 
as  a  class,  the  moral  and  religious  condition  of  the  small 
colleges  is  superior  to  that  of  the  large.  The  society 
system  and  the  system  of  athletic  sports  of  a  col- 
lege attract  and  repel  students  according  to  their 
proclivities  ;  and  the  advantages  as  well  as  the  disad- 
vantages of  each  have  been  considered  in  preceding 
chapters.  The  system  of  fellowships,  however,  though 
introduced  into  only  a  few  colleges  and  into  them  to 
a  very  meager  extent,  should  attract  students.  The 
opportunities  they  offer  for  advanced  study  both  do 
and  ought  to  draw  the  ablest  men. 

By  the  application  of  these  principles,  especially 
of  the  four  first  named,  the  student  can  select  his 
college  with  a  high  degree  of  certainty  that  his  choice 
will  prove  satisfactory.  As  he  applies  these  tests  he 
will  find  that  the  quality  of  the  instruction  in  the 
eastern  colleges  is  better,  as  a  whole,  than  in  the 


122  AMERICAN  COLLEGES, 

western  ;  and  that  of  the  former  class  the  instruction 
offered  by  Yale,  Harvard,  Princeton,  Williams,  Am- 
herst, Dartmouth  and  Brown  University  is  of  pre- 
eminent excellence,  and  that,  of  the  western  colleges, 
the  University  of  Michigan  surpasses  the  vast  ma- 
jority of  her  sisters  in  the  worth  of  her  teaching. 
Regarding  the  amount  of  the  instruction  greater  cer- 
tainty may  be  attained  than  respecting  its  quality. 
Harvard  offers  more  than  twice  as  much  instruction 
as  any  other  college  ;  but  other  prominent  institu- 
tions present  amounts  very  similar  to  each  other 
for  the  choice  of  the  student.  The  moral  and  relig- 
ious character  of  the  college  he  will  find  exceedingly 
high  at  many  of  the  western  colleges,  particularly  of 
those  which  were  founded  and  are  fostered  under  direct 
Christian  influences.  In  the  east,  the  moral  and  re- 
ligious tone  of  Amherst  and  Williams  is  recognized 
as  eminently  pure.  The  question  of  expenses  can  be 
decided  with  a  considerable  degree  of  exactness. 
The  cost  of  a  diploma  at  a  small  college  of  the  west 
is  the  least,  and  of  one  at  Harvard,  Yale,  and  Colum- 
bia the  most.  But  to  a  poor  man  of  brains  Harvard 
may  be  the  cheapest  college,  as  its  scholarship  -and 
other  funds  may  pay  his  entire  expenses.  But  to  a  poor 
man  without  brains  Harvard  is  not,  as  its  president 
is  reported  to  have  said  at  its  commencement  dinner 
in  1878,  to  be  recommended. 


CHOICE  OF  A  COLLEGE, 


123 


The  other  principles  of  choice  may  also  be  applied 
with  a  considerable  degree  of  precision.  Touching  the 
reputation  of  a  college  it  is  generally  granted  that 
the  name  of  the  University  of  Michigan,  and  of  Oberlin 
stands  as  high  as  that  of  any  college  west  of  the  AUe- 
ghanies ;  and  that  Harvard  and  Yale  occupy  a  similar 
position  in  the  east.  But  the  European  reputation 
of  the  Cambridge  college  is  the  most  extended.  In 
regard  to  the  attractiveness  of  natural  scenery,  it  is 
usually  conceded  that  the  Berkshire  Hills  and  the 
other  beautiful  scenery  of  western  Massachusetts 
make  Amherst  and  Williams  facile  principes.  Con- 
cerning the  opportunities  presented  for  general  society, 
for  the  use  of  libraries,  galleries  of  art  and  other 
means  of  asthetic  enjoyment,  the  several  colleges  in 
the  city  of  New  York,  Harvard  and  Yale  present 
exceptional  advantages.  Respecting  secret  societies, 
it  is  probable  the  system  plays  as  important  a  part  in 
Yale,  and  as  unimportant  a  one  in  Oberlin,  Princeton 
and  Harvard,  as  elsewhere.  In  regard  to  base  ball 
and  boating,  Columbia,  Cornell,  Yale,  and  Harvard 
pay  as  much,  if  not  greater,  attention  to  the  sports 
as  ether  colleges ;  but  for  the  care  bestowed  upon 
regular  physical  exercise  in  the  gymnasium,  Amherst 
is  pre-eminent.  In  respect  to  fellowships  the  induce- 
ments presented  for  the  choice  of  Harvard  are  the 
most    attractive,  as  the   Johns  Hopkins  University 


124  AMERICAN  COLLEGES, 

bestows  its  foundations  upon  other  than  its  own 
graduates.  But  those  offered  by  Princeton,  Yale,  and 
a  few  other  colleges,  are  of  considerable  weight. 

These  are  the  general  results  at  which,  it  is  be- 
lieved, the  student,  who  is  choosing  his  college,  will 
arrive  by  the  application  of  the  several  principles 
here  outlined.  The  consequent  arguments  for  and 
against  his  selection  of  an  individual  college  he  must 
weigh  and  balance  against  each  other.  Whatever 
his  conclusion  may  be,  he  can  with  a  high  degree  of 
assurance  congratulate  himself  that,  on  his  gradua- 
tion, he  will  believe  his  choice  was  precisely  right, 
and  that  his  alma  mater  has  proved  to  be  the  college 
best  fitted  to  his  needs. 


RANK  IN  COLLEGE,  ETC.  125 


CHAPTER  X. 

RANK   IN   COLLEGE   A   TEST   OF   FUTURE   DISTINCTION. 

That  men  of  high  scholarship  in  college  seldom 
win  distinction  in  professional  life  is  a  very  prevalent 
opinion.  To  be  a  first  scholar  is,  to  many  minds, 
equivalent  to  passing,  after  five  years  of  midnight 
study,  into  the  oblivion  of  a  country  parsonage.  That 
"  valedictorians  are  never  heard  of  after  leaving  col- 
lege" is  the  sop  which  the  friends  of  every  dullard 
are  wont  to  fling  to  his  disappointed  ambition  on  his 
commencement  day.  But,  however  widely  this  opin- 
ion may  prevail,  an  examination  of  the  records  of 
scholarship  in  our  colleges,  and  an  inquiry  into  the 
college  rank  of  those  who  have  gained  distinction  in 
after  life,  indicate  its  groundlessness. 

The  large  majority  of  graduates  who  have  become 
distinguished  by  the  work  of  their  life  were,  in  col- 
lege, scholars  of  the  highest  rank.  It  is  seldom  that 
a  scholar  of  low  rank  has  succeeded  in  attaining  great 


126  AMERICA  IV  COLLEGES. 

eminence  before  the  world.  Of  the  graduates  of  Har- 
vard, during  the  first  half  of  this  century,  who  have 
gained  renown,  at  least  four-fifths  ranked  in  the  first 
quarter  of  the  class  to  which  each  belonged,  and  two- 
fifths  of  this  number  ranked  in  the  first  sixth  or  the 
first  eighth  of  the  class.  Indeed,  the  first  ten  schol- 
ars in  a  class  of  fifty  or  sixty,  the  usual  size  of  Har- 
vard's classes  in  the  first  half  of  this  century,  have 
usually  furnished  more  men  of  distinction  than  the 
remaining  forty  or  fifty  of  a  class.  At  Yale,  nine- 
tenths  of  all  the  distinguished  graduates,  between 
1819  and  1850,  were  either  first,  or  among  the  first 
scholars  of  the  class  to  which  they  belonged.  Al- 
though the  lists  of  those  who  received  honors  previous 
to  1 8 19  are  not  sufficiently  accurate  to  allow  a  conclu- 
sion, yet  during  the  thirty-one  years  for  which  data  has 
been  kindly  furnished  me  by  the  secretary  of  the  col- 
lege, a  student  who  ranked  low  in  college  has  seldom 
succeeded  in  attaining  a  high  position  in  his  profession. 
The  twenty-five  most  distinguished  men  who  gradu- 
ated at  Amherst,  between  1822,  its  first  commence- 
ment, and  1850  were,  with  one  or  two  notable  excep- 
tions, excellent  scholars.  Not  far  from  one-half  of 
this  number  became  professors,  and  the  foundation 
of  their  success  as  teachers  they  laid  in  the  hard  work 
of  four  years  of  studentship.  Although  the  statistics 
of  scholarship  at  Dartmouth  are  not  as  full  as  at 


RANK  IN  COLLEGE,  ETC.  127 

either  Harvard,  Yale  or  Amherst,  since  during  nearly 
forty  years  of  this  century  positions  were  determined 
by  lot,  yet,  so  far  as  can  be  ascertained,  those  who 
compose  the  long  list  of  her  honored  roll  were  schol- 
ars of  exceedingly  high  rank.  "  Nearly  all  of  them," 
the  librarian  of  the  college  writes  me,  "  so  far  as  I  can 
learn,  gave  promise  of  the  future  while  in  college." 
The  statistics  of  scholarship  at  Bowdoin,  from  the 
graduation  of  its  first  class  in  1806  to  1850,  indicate 
the  same  conclusion.  The  most  distinguished  of  its 
graduates  have  been,  as  a  rule,  among  its  most  dis- 
tinguished scholars. 

The  earliest  won  honors  of  those  whose  tastes  are 
scholarly,  and  whose  lives  are  occupied  with  scholarly 
pursuits,  have  usually  been  the  college  honors  of  high 
scholarship.  Their  college  course  has,  in  many  instan- 
ces, proved  to  be  a  microcosm  of  their  whole  life.  Lines 
of  study  started  in  college  have  ended  only  with  their 
life  ;  and  their  success  as  students  has  foreshadowed 
their  success  as  professors.  Ex-President  Woolsey, 
president  of  Yale  College  for  a  quarter  of  a  century, 
and  the  whole  of  whose  long  life  has  been  celebrated 
for  its  scholarly  attainments,  received  the  highest 
honors  at  Yale  in  1820.  President  Eliot  of  Harvard 
was  one  of  the  first  scholars  of  his  class  of  1853,  and 
the  scientific  eminence  to  which  he  has  since  attained 
is  foreshadowed  in  the  subject  of  his  commencement 


128  AMERICAN  COLLEGES, 

oration,  "The  last  Hours  of  Copernicus."  Presi- 
dent Porter  was  the  third  scholar  of  the  class  of  1831 
in  the  college  which  he  has  served  for  more  than 
thirty  years,  as  either  professor  or  president.  The 
president  of  Amherst  was  one  of  the  first  scholars  of 
its  class  of  1853;  and  college  tradition  still  tells  of 
the  rivalry  that  existed  between  Seelye  and  a  class- 
mate for  the  first  position  in  metaphysics.  The  late 
President  Smith,  of  Dartmouth,  under  whose  care 
the  ancient  New  Hampshire  college  was  greatly 
prospered,  was  the  third  scholar  of  the  class  of  1830  ; 
and  President  Bartlett,  recently  inaugurated,  was  one 
of  the  first  scholars  of  the  class  of  1836.  Dr.  Barn- 
ard, president  of  Columbia  College,  whose  scientific 
renown  is  world-wide,  received  the  second  honors 
at  Yale  in  1828;  and  in  the  second  year  after  his 
graduation  his  scholastic  attainments  were  recognized 
in  his  election  to  a  tutorship.  Dr.  James  Walker, 
professor  of  philosophy  at  Harvard  from  1839  to 
1853,. and  president  of  the  college  from  1853  to  i860, 
was  a  leading  scholar  of  the  class  of  18 14;  and  his 
successor.  President  Felton,  attained  high  distinction, 
before  his  graduation  in  1827,  for  his  classical  attain- 
ments. Ex-President  Hill,  also,  was  the  second 
scholar  of  the  class  of  1843.  Professor  Bowen,  the 
head  of  the  philosophical  department  at  Harvard, 
and  a  writer  of  recognized  abiUty  upon  philosophical 


RANK  IN  COLLEGE,  ETC,  129 

and  political  topics,  was  the  first  scholar  of  the  class 
of  1833  ;  Professor  Lovering,  the  head  of  the  scientific 
department,  the  fourth  scholar ;  and  Professor  Torrey, 
the  head  of  the  department  of  history,  was  also  a  high 
scholar  in  the  same  class.  Professor  Benjamin  Peirce, 
of  Harvard's  most  distinguished  class  of  1829,  was 
as  conspicuous  for  his  mathematical  attainment 
among  his  college  associates,  as  he  was  among  all 
contemporaneous  scholars.  The  formation  of  the 
reputation  which  Professor  Cooke  enjoys  in  the 
scientific  world  was  laid  in  his  college  course,  and 
is  foreshadowed  in  the  subject  of  his  commencement 
dissertation,  "  The  alleged  Irreligious  Tendency  of 
Scientific  Studies."  His  colleague,  Professor  Child, 
the  authority  in  early  English  on  this  side  the 
ocean,  was  the  most  eminent  scholar  of  the  scholarly 
class  of  1846  ;  and  Professor  Goodwin,  who  is  known 
by  his  grammatical  works,  even  more  favorably  in  Ger- 
many than  in  this  country,  was  the  salutatorian  of  Har- 
vard's class  of  1850.  The  mathematical  honors  which 
Professor  Loomis  has  constantly  received  since  his 
graduation  at  Yale  in  1830,  he  began  to  win  in  college, 
where  his  rank  was  third  ;  and  his  colleague.  Professor 
Dana,  occupied  the  fourth  position  in  the  class  of  1833. 
To  Dr.  Leonard  Bacon  was  assigned  the  same  position 
in  the  class  of  1820.  The  honor  of  attaining  the  high- 
est rank  ever  given  at  Yale  College  belongs,  it  is  said, 

9 


I30  AMERICAN  COLLEGES. 

to  a  member  of  the  class  of  1868,  who  is  now  a  pro- 
fessor in  the  college.  His  average  was,  with  4  as  the 
maximum,  3.71. 

At  Amherst  this  honor  belongs,  for  the  period 
under  review,  to  the  late  Professor  H.  B.  Hackett, 
whose  contributions  to  sacred  literature  place  him 
among  the  most  eminent  of  biblical  scholars.  His 
percentage  for  the  whole  course  was  ninety -seven  and 
one-half  ;  and  the  class  of  1-830  honored  him  with  its 
valedictory.  The  salutatorian  of  the  class  was  the 
present  professor  of  Greek  at  Amherst,  W.  S.  Tyler, 
whose  rank  fell  only  one-half  of  one  per  cent  below 
that  of  his  successful  rival.  Professor  C.  A.  Young, 
one  of  the  most  distinguished  of  our  astronomers,  was 
the  first  scholar  in  Dartmouth's  class  of  1853.  The 
venerable  Professor  Stowe  was  a  high  scholar  at  Bow- 
doin  in  1824,  as  was  Professor  Samuel  Harris  in 
1833  ;  and  Professor  Ezra  Abbott,  now  of  Cambridge, 
was  among  the  first  scholars  in  Bowdoin's  class  of 
1840,  and  excelled  his  college  peers  in  his  knowledge 
of  Greek,  as  he  does  still  all  American  scholars  in  his 
knowledge  of  the  Greek  of  the  New  Testament. 

These  names  may  serve  as  representatives  of 
scores  of  other  equally  distinguished  scholars  whose 
college  honors  were  the  foundation  of  more  con- 
spicuous, but  not  more  hardly  won,  distinction  in 
after  life.     It  is,  indeed,  difficult  to  find  an  eminent 


RANK  IN  COLLEGE,  ETC.  131 

professor  in  any  American  college  or  school  who  was 
not  in  his  student  days  an  eminent  scholar. 

Not  only  those,  however,  who  have  gained  distinc- 
tion in  scholastic  and  pedagogic  pursuits,  but  also  those 
who  have  attained  eminence  in  literature,  have  been 
scholars  in  college  of  high  rank.  The  most  celebrated 
of  our  historians,  essayists,  poets,  have,  as  a  rule, 
been  distinguished  in  college  for  excellent  scholarship. 
George  Bancroft  was  a  high  scholar  in  Harvard's 
class  of  18 1 7,  and  was  particularly  distinguished  for 
his  attainments  in  the  Platonic  philosophy.  His 
commencement  part  was  an  oration  with  the  charac- 
teristic subject,  "  On  the  Dignity  and  Utility  of  the 
Philosophy  of  the  Human  Mind."  He  was  also  hon- 
ored with  the  class-day  poetship  of  his  class,  which 
does  not,  however,  indicate  in  itself  high  scholarship. 
Among  the  high  scholars  of  the  class  of  18 14  was 
William  Hickling  Prescott,  who  delivered,  as  his  com- 
mencement part,  a  Latin  poem,  "  Ad  Spem  ;  "  and  of 
the  next  class  of  181 5,  the  historian  of  New  England, 
Dr.  Palfrey,  was  a  distinguished  member.  The  politi- 
co-philosophical character  of  his  mind,  which  is  mani- 
fested on  every  page  of  his  incomparable  history,  is 
early  indicated  in  the  subject  of  his  graduation  ora- 
tion, "  On  Republican  Institutions  as  Affecting  Pri- 
vate Character."  Like  Mr.  Bancroft,  Dr.  Palfrey  was 
the  class-day  poet  of  his  class.     Though  John  Loth  r op 


132  AMERICAN  COLLEGES. 

Motley's  college  rank  was  not  so  high  as  Dr.  Palfrey's, 
yet  its  excellence  indicated,  to  a  certain  degree,  his 
future  eminence ;  and  his  literary  tastes  are  mani- 
fested in  the  subject  of  his  commencement  part,  "  The 
Influence  of  a  Multiplication  of  Books  upon  Litera- 
ture." The  cultured  scholarship  of  Edward  Everett, 
excellent  in  every  department  of  college  study,  gave 
him  the  first  place  in  the  class  of  1811  ;  and  his  com- 
mencement oration,  "  On  Literary  Evils,"  and  his 
oration  for  the  second  degree,  "  On  the  Restoration 
of  Greece,"  forecast  the  literary  and  classical  charac- 
ter of  the  work  of  his  entire  life.  Though  Ralph 
Waldo  Emerson  was  by  -no  means  among  the  highest 
scholars  of  his  class,  yet  his  rank  was  most  honorable. 
The  infinities  of  the  transcendental  philosophy,  how- 
ever, were  not  accommodated  to  Harvard's  narrow 
curriculum  of  sixty  years  ago.  His  commencement 
part  was  a  "  conference  "  with  two  classmates,  "  On 
the  Character  of  John  Knox,  William  Penn,  and  John 
Wesley."  Mr.  Emerson  was  also  the  class-day  poet  of 
his  class  of  1821.  Our  great  romancer,  also  did  not 
succeed  in  obtaining-  a  first-rate  rank  at  Bbwdoin,  as 
idid  his  class-mate,  Longfellow.  Hawthorne  wrote, 
in  his  college  days.  Professor  Packard,  who  was  one  of 
our  instructors,  informs  me,  "  Fine  Latin  and  English," 
but  no  commencement  part  was  assigned  him,  "  per- 
haps, because  he  requested  not  to  have  one."     Mr. 


RANK  IN  COLLEGE,  ETC.  133 

George  Ripley  was  distinguished  at  Harvard  for  his 
scholarship  in  the  class  of  1823,  and  delivered  an  ora- 
tion for  his  second  degree  on  "  The  Claims  of  the  Age 
on  the  Young  Men  of  America," — claims  which  he 
has  for  the  last  fifty  years  done  so  much  to  fulfill. 
Mr.  Longfellow  was  a  high  scholar  in  Bowdoin's 
most  celebrated  class  of  1825 — the  class  of  John  S.  C. 
Abbott,  George  B.  Cheever,  as  well  as  of  Hawthorne; 
and  some  of  the  most  graceful  of  his  graceful  verses 
were  written  before  his  graduation.  That  long  list  of 
poems,  dedicated  to  Harvard's  class  of  1829,  with 
which,  at  their  annual  meetings,  Oliver  Wendell 
Holmes  has  delighted  his  class-mates,  began  on  his 
class,  and  commencement,  day.  Doctor  Holmes  served 
as  poet  on  both  these  occasions,  and  was  as  well  an 
excellent  scholar  of  the  famous  class.  Though  the 
course  of  William  CuUen  Bryant  at  Williams  College 
was  limited  to  two  years,  yet  in  them  he  gained  dis- 
tinction for  his  attainments  in  the  languages  and  in 
literature.  James  Russell  Lowell,  however,  though 
the  poet  at  Harvard  in  1838,  was  not  a  high  scholar, 
and  received  no  part  at  commencement.  The  college 
curriculum  of  forty  years  ago  was  not  the  nurse  of 
those  qualities  which  make  the  commemoration  ode 
immortal,  and  give  his  essays  in  literary  criticism 
a  pre-eminence  which  no  other  writing  of  the  same 
character  has  yet  attained  in  this  generation. 


134 


AMERICAN  COLLEGES, 


Although  the  college  rank  of  distinguished  clergy- 
men has  not  been,  as  a  whole,  as  high  as  that  of  dis- 
tinguished scholars  and  writers,  yet,  in  most  cases,  it 
has  been  conspicuous  for  its  excellence.  Phillips 
Brooks  was  a  high  scholar  of  Harvard's  class  of  1855, 
and  delivered  as  his  commencement  part  a  very  char- 
acteristic dissertation  on  "Rabaut,  the  Huguenot 
Preacher."  O.  B.  Frothingham  was  the  salutatorian 
of  the  class  of  1843  at  Harvard,  and  was  especially 
distinguished  in  Latin,  Greek,  and  rhetoric.  Dr.  R. 
S.  Storrs  attained  high  scholarship  in  the  class  of 
1839  ^t  Amherst ;  and  its  valedictory  was  delivered 
by  Dr.  Huntington,  who  is  now  bishop  of  the  diocese 
of  Central  New  York.  Dr.  Budington  of  Brooklyn, 
received  the  third  honor  at  Yale  in  1834;  and  Dr. 
Bellows  and  Dr.  Samuel  Osgood  attained  high  rank  in 
Harvard's  class  of  1832.  Dr.  Osgood  was  also  the 
orator  of  the  class.  As  the  theological  and  ministe- 
rial methods  of  Henry  Ward  Beecher  are  exceptional 
to  the  methods  of  mt)st  clergymen,  so  his  scholarship 
at  Amherst  was  unlike  the  high  rank  to  which  most 
students,  who  are  now  distinguished  ministers,  at- 
tained. Mr.  Beecher  is  undoubtedly  the  most  distin- 
guished graduate  of  Amherst  College  ;  but  his  col- 
lege rank  is  the  lowest  of  any  one  who  has  become 
at  all  celebrated.  His  percentage  for  the  whole 
course  was   fifty-eight.     It  is  evident,  however,  that 


135 

those  qualities  of  mind  and  heart  which  have  made 
Mr.  Beecher  so  prominent  for  a  quarter  of  a  century 
could  find  little  opportunity  for  either  employment  or 
culture  in  the  course  of  study  of  a  small  and  new  col- 
lege forty-three  years  ago.  But  his  brother  Edward, 
distinguished  more  by  his  books  than  by  his  sermons, 
received  the  highest  honors  at  Yale  in  1822. 

The  great  lawyers,  too,  in  whom  our  country  has 
been  more  rich  than  in  the  members  of  any  other 
profession,^have  won  distinction  in  college  for  high 
scholarship.  Rufus  Choate,  it  is  said,  is  one  of  the 
three  men  who,  in  the  course  of  a  hundred  years,  have 
graduated  at  Dartmouth  with  a  perfect  mark.  The 
late  Benjamin  Robbins  Curtis  stood  among  the  first 
scholars  of  Harvard's  class  of  1829  ;  and  in  his  com- 
mencement oration,  "  The  Character  of  Lord  Bacon," 
his  judicial  mind  was  afforded  a  worthy  opportunity 
for  weighing  evidence.  He  was  also  honored  with  the 
oratorship  of  his  class.  Richard  H.  Dana,  jr.,  was  one 
of  the  high  ranking  scholars  of  the  class  of  1837  ;  as 
was  also  Charles  Devens,  a  distinguished  member 
of  the  Supreme  Bench  of  Massachusetts,  of  1838. 
Mr.  Evarts,  too,  was  one  of  the  highest  scholars  of 
Yale's  class  of  1 837.  Nearly  all  those,  in  fact,  who  have 
used  distinction  gained  at  the  bar  as  a  stepping-stone 
to  high  political  distinction,  have  been  scholars  in 
colleges  of  excellent  standing.    The  two  college-bred 


1 36  AMERICAN  COLLEGES. 

men  of  the  "  great  American  triumvirate  "  gained  very 
high  rank  as  students.  Webster  was  one  of  the  finest 
scholars  in  his  class  of  1801  at  Dartmouth,  probably- 
ranking  second ;  and  Calhoun  of  Yale's  class  of  1804 
attained  the  highest  distinction.  President  Dwight's 
opinion  regarding  his  ability  is  indicated  in  the 
remark  attributed  to  him,  "That  young  man  has 
talent  enough  to  be  president  of  the  United  States." 
Salmon  P.  Chase  was  a  high  scholar  in  Dartmouth's 
class  of  1826 ;  as  was  also  Ebenezer  Rockwood  Hoar 
of  Harvard's  class  of  1835.  His  brother,  George  F. 
Hoar,  attained  an  honorable  rank  in  that  class  of  dis- 
tinguished scholars,  that  of  1846.  Caleb  Cushing, 
too,  who  was  distinguished  for  his  scholarship  as  weM 
as  for  his  diplomatic  and  juristic  attainments,  was 
the  salutatorian  of  Harvard's  class  of  18 14.  Among 
the  eminent  scholars  of  the  class  of  1828  were  George 
S.  Hillard  and  Robert  C.  Winthrop  who  forecasting 
his  long  career  of  public  service,  delivered  as  his  com- 
mencement part  an  oration  on  "  Public  Station." 
Charles  Sumner  was  distinguished  in  college  for  his 
knowledge  of  history  and  of  literature,  ancient  and 
modern,  of  which  he  was .  then,  as  during  his  whole 
life,  a  diligent  student.  His  commencement  part  was 
a  "conference"  with  three  class-mates  on  "The  Ro- 
man Ceremonies,  the  System  of  the  Druids,  the  Re- 
ligion of  the  Hindoos,  and  the  Superstition  of  the 


137 

American  Indians."  The  only  graduate  of  Bowdoin 
who  has  served  as  president  of  the  United  States  is 
Franklin  Pierce.  He  was  one  of  the  leading  scholars 
of  its  class  of  1824.  William  Pitt  Fessenden,  likewise, 
though  very  young  when  he  received  his  first  degree 
in  1823,  indicated  by  his  scholarship  the  eminence  to 
which  he  afterward  attained  ;  and  George  P.  Marsh, 
a  scholar  as  well  as  a  statesman,  was  conspicuous  for 
his  scholarship  at  Dartmouth  in  1820. 

From  this  examination  of  the  records  of  scholar- 
ship in  our  colleges,  and  of  the  college  rank  of  those 
who  have  become  distinguished,  the  conclusion  is  in- 
evitable that  the  vast  majority  of  the  scholars,  the 
writers,  the  clergymen,  the  lawyers,  and  the  states- 
men who  have  gained  distinction  by  the  work  of  their 
life,  have  first  won  distinction  in  the  college  recita- 
tion and  lecture  room.  This  conclusion  is  substan- 
tially identical  with  that  of  Macaulay,  which  he  ar- 
rived at  by  a  similar  examination  of  the  records  of 
scholarship  at  the  university  of  Cambridge,  and  of 
Oxford : 

"  It  seems  to  me  that  there  never  was  a  fact  proved  by  a 
larger  mass  of  evidence,  or  a  more  unvaried  experience  than 
this  :  that  men  who  distinguish  themselves  in  their  youth  above 
their  contemporaries  almost  always  keep,  to  the  end  of  their 
lives,  the  start  which  they  have  gained.  This  experience  is  so 
vast  that  I  should  as  soon  expect  to  hear  any  one  question  it 
as  to  hear  it  denied  that  arsenic  is  poison,  or  that  brandy  is  in- 


138  AMERICAN  COLLEGES. 

toxicating.  Take  down,  in  any  library,  the  Cambridge  calen" 
dar.  There  you  have  the  list  of  honors  for  a  hundred  years. 
Look  at  the  list  of  wranglers  and  of  junior  optimes,  and  I  will 
venture  to  say,  that  for  one  man  who  has  in  afterlife  distin- 
guished himself  among  the  junior  optimes,  you  will  find  twenty 
among  the  wranglers.  Take  the  Oxford  calendar,  and  compare 
the  list  of  first-class  men  with  an  equal  number  of  men  in  the 
third  class.  Is  not  our  history  full  of  instances  which  prove 
this  fact  ?  Look  at  the  Church  or  the  Bar.  Look  at  Parlia- 
ment from  the  time  that  parliamentary  government  began  in 
this  country, — from  the  days  of  Montague  and  St.  John  to  those 
of  Canning  and  Peel.  Look  to  India.  The  ablest  man  who 
ever  governed  India  was  Warren  Hastings ;  and  was  he  not 
in  the  first  rank  a  Westminster  ?  The  ablest  civil  servant  I 
ever  knew  in  Ind.ia  was  Sir  Charles  Metcalfe  ;  and  was  he  not 
of  the  first  standing  at  Eton  ?  The  most  eminent  member  of 
the  aristocracy  who  ever  governed  India  was  Lord  Wellesley. 
What  was  his  Eton  reputation  ?  What  was  his  Oxford  repu- 
tation ?  *  *  *  The  general  rule  is,  beyond  all  doubt,  that 
the  men  who  were  first  in  the  competition  of  the  schools  have 
been  first  in  the  competition  of  the  world."  (Life  and  Letters 
of  Lord  Macaulay,  ii.,  289,  290,  291). 

But  if  Macaulay  had  been  speaking  twenty-five 
years  later  he  would  have  added  another  yet  more  dis- 
tinguished name  to  the  list  of  those  whose  distinction 
in  school  has  been  the  forerunner  of  distinction  in 
life.  William  E.  Gladstone,  after  a  most  brilliant 
career  at  Eton,  entered  Christ's  Church,  Oxford,  and 
graduated  in  1831  with  a  "double  first-class,"  the 
highest  honor,  and  one  seldom  won ;  but  which  was 


RANK  IN  COLLEGE,  ETC,  139 

twenty-three  years  before  won  by  Gladstone's  politi- 
cal father,  Sir  Robert  Peel.  Indeed,  six  of  the  seven 
members  of  a  recent  English  Cabinet  who  sat  in  the 
House  of  Commons,  who  were  educated  at  the  uni- 
versities, were  either  ** first-class,"  or  "double-first 
class  "  men. 

It  is  not  difficult  to  discover  the  cause  of  the  con- 
dition by  which  those  who  are  first  in  the  struggle 
for  college  honors  are  first  in  the  struggle  for  the 
honors  of  the  world.  These  causes  exist  in  the  phys- 
ical, moral,  and  mental  characteristics  of  the  student, 
and  in  the  beneficial  results  which  flow  from  four  years 
of  hard  mental  labor.  Good  health  is  essential  to  the 
winning  of  success  in  both  college  and  the  world. 
The  mens  smia  cannot  be  for  a  long  time  energetic 
and  efficient  unless  placed  in  sano  corpore.  The  suc- 
cessful student,  like  the  successful  writer,  minister  or 
lawyer,  must  in  the  first  place  be  a  good  animal. 
Good  morals  likewise  are  a  sine  qua  non  of  distinction 
in  college  and  in  after  life.  For,  as  renown  is  usually 
won  only  by  continued  hard  work,  and  as  the  power  to 
endure  this  strain  of  hard  work  is  always  weakened, 
if  not  destroyed  by  evil  indulgence,  few  men  of  evil 
habits  succeed  in  gaining  distinction.  The  men  of 
the  highest  intellectual  distinction  in  this  country  and 
in  England  have  been,  at  least  in  their  student-days, 
men   of    pure  moral   character.      College   students, 


140  AMERICAN  COLLEGES. 

therefore,  of  evil  habits  are  seldom  first-rate  scholars, 
and,  unless  shaking  off  these  habits,  seldom  win  dis- 
tinction in  the  work  of  their  lives.  Those  qualities 
of  mind,  moreover,  which  serve  to  make  great  schol- 
ars serve  also  to  make  great  men.  The  highest  rank 
in  college  is  seldom  attained  by  a  man  of  genius.  A 
man  of  genius  is,  and  can  be,  distinguished  only  usu- 
ally in  one  direction  ;  and,  therefore,  if  in  college  he 
is  2i  facile  princeps  in  mathematics  or  philosophy,  it  is 
probable  he  is  a  dullard  in  Greek  or  physics.  His  place, 
therefore,  on  the  scale  of  scholarship  is  seldom  high. 
To  this  cause  may,  perhaps,  be  attributed  the  com- 
paratively low  college  rank  of  Ralph  Waldo  Emerson 
and  of  Hawthorne.  As  a  rule,  the  highest  scholars 
of  any  college  class  are  men  of  excellent,  though  not 
of  brilliant,  ability.  They  have  "  good  minds,"  talent ; 
but  their  only  claim  to  genius  is  the  power  of  study- 
ing ten  or  twelve  hours  each  day.  They  preach  and 
practice  the  gospel  according  to  Carlyle — "  the  gospel 
of  work."  But  this  is  the  usual  type  of  the  mental 
ability  of  those  who  attain  the  highest  distinction  in 
any  department  of  thought  or  study.  The  noblest 
reputations  which  have  ever  been  gained  in  this  coun- 
try or  in  England,  in  either  scholarship,  literature, 
ministry,  law,  medicine,  or  statesmanship,  have  usu- 
ally sprung  rather  from  earnest  and  continued  study 
than  from  natural  brilliancy.     The  identical  causes, 


RANK  IN  COLLEGE,  ETC.  141 

therefore,  of  good  health,  good  morals  and  a  good 
mind,  lead  to  success  in  college  and  in  the  world. 

To  the  highest  scholarship,  moreover  belong  that 
mental  discipline  and  those  stores  of  acquired  knowl- 
edge which  are  the  foundation-stones  of  the  temple  of 
distinction.  This  mental  discipline  the  highest  schol- 
ar obtains  in  the  greatest  degree,  and  these  stores  of 
knowledge  he  acquires  in  the  fullest  measure.  His 
preparation,  therefore,  for  his  professional  work  is 
superior  to  that  of  his  class-mate  of  lower  rank,  whose 
mind  is  neither  disciplined  by  so  constant  thinking, 
nor  stored  with  knowledge  so  extended  or  profound. 
The  start  which  he  has  gained  in  the  beginning  of  the 
race,  it  is  probable  he  will  keep  to  its  end.  The  stu- 
dent, indeed,  who  fails  to  receive  in  college  the  knowl- 
edge and  the  discipline  of  the  highest  scholarship,  is 
usually  obliged  to  supply  the  consequent  deficiency 
by  additional  study  before  he  can  indulge  the  rational 
hope  of  distinguished  success  in  his  profession.  The 
late  Jeffries  Wyman,  our  great  professor  of  compara- 
tive anatomy,  acknowledged  this  truth  in  regard  to 
his  own  mental  development.  He  received  no  com- 
mencement part  in  his  class  of  1833  at  Harvard. 
But  in  the  four  years  intervening  between  his  gradua- 
tion and  taking  the  degree  of  M.D.  in  1837,  an  oppor- 
tunity was  allowed  for  remedying  the  defects  of  his 
college  education.     Thus  he  fully  prepared  himself 


142 


AMERICAN  COLLEGES. 


to  win  the  highest  scientific  honors.  The  conclusion 
is  therefore  evident  that  the  causes  which  tend  to 
make  men  first  in  the  rivalry  of  college,  tend  also  to 
make  them  first  in  the  struggle  for  the  honors  of  pro- 
fessional life. 

The  reason  of  the  prevalent  error  that  first  schol- 
ars usually  fail  in  winning  distinction  after  their  grad- 
uation arises  from  making  this  induction  from  a  too 
narrow  basis  of  facts.  The  lack  of  that  professional 
eminence  which  has  failed  to  crown  the  life-work  of 
certain  valedictorians  of  the  highest  rank  is  undoubt- 
edly the  principal  cause  of  the  error.  It  must,  indeed, 
he  granted  that  there  are  a  few  considerations  which  in- 
dicate that  upon  the  heads  of  valedictorians  should  rest 
the  blame  of  the  prevalence  of  this  error.  For  a  high 
scholar,  in  order  to  be  first,  often  yields  to  the  tempta- 
tion of  working  for  "  marks  "  in  a  way  that  is  disas- 
trous to  the  genuine  culture  of  his  intellectual  power. 
In  the  competition  of  the  world,  therefore,  he  may  fall 
behind  his  rival  of  the  third  or  fourth  rank,  whose  eye 
was  set  upon  a  higher  prize  than  the  rank  list.  A 
few  valedictorians  are,  moreover,  fond  of  flattering 
themselves  that,  since  they  have  reaped  the  highest 
collegiate  honors,  their  life  cannot  be  ^without  noble 
result  even  if  producing  no  other  fruit.  This  assur- 
ance is  liable  to  result  in  a  mental  apathy  which  ren- 
ders high  attainments  impossible. 


WEALTH  AND  ENDOWMENT.  143 


CHAPTER  XI. 
WEALTH  AND   ENDOWMENT. 

The  State  universities,  of  which  there  are  not  less 
*than  seventeen  in  this  country,  are  established  and 
supported  by  the  governments  of  the  Common- 
wealths in  which  they  are  situated.  They  are  an 
integral  part  of  the  educational  system  of  each  State. 
Their  buildings  are  public  property,  and  the  main 
portion  of  their  funds  is  drawn  from  the  public  chest. 
But  the  funds  and  property  of  other  colleges  and 
universities  are  derived  principally  from  the  gift  and 
bequest  of  individuals. 

The  history  of  the  financial  beginnings  of  the 
older  colleges  is  commonplace;  the  history  of  one 
is,  in  broad  outlines,  the  history  of  all.  It  is  a  his- 
tory of  penury,  of  endeavors  for  an  endowment,  and 
of  constant  needs  far  outrunning  the  means  of  sup- 
ply.    That  this  was  the  condition  of  all  the  older 


144  AMERICAN  COLLEGES, 

American  colleges,  excepting  William  and  Mary, 
which  down  to  the  Revolutionary  War  was  the  best 
endowed  of  all  institutions  of  learning,  is  well  known  ; 
but  it  is  not  so  generally  recognized  that  the  colleges 
founded  in  the  present  century  have,  with  a  few 
remarkable  exceptions,  passed  through  the  same 
struggle  for  an  ample  endowment. 

Williams  College  received  as  its  original  fund  about 
fourteen  thousand  dollars,  one  quarter  of  which  was 
derived  from  the  proceeds  of  a  lottery,  and  the  prin- 
cipal part  of  the  remainderirom  the  estate  of  Colonel 
Ephraim  Williams.  Bowdoin's  endowment  consisted 
mainly  of  several  townships  of  land  lying  in  Maine, 
and  of  gifts  of  James  Bowdoin  in  both  land  and 
money.  Amherst  at  the  time  of  its  establishment 
rejoiced  in  the  possession  of  fifty  thousand  dollars, 
raised  by  small  contributions,  and  in  the  generosity 
of  other  friends  who  gave,  to  a  large  extent,  the  ma- 
terials and  the  labor  which  erected  its  first  building. 
The  struggle  of  Wesleyan  University  for  a  foothold 
was  long  and  hard.  Contributions  for  its  endow- 
ment were,  as  President  Fisk  said,  "  as  meagre  as 
the  leakage  of  a  miser's  purse."  Oberlin  began  in 
the  purchase  of  a  tract  of  land  three  miles  square  at 
a  dollar  and  fifty  cents  an  acre  by  its  missionary 
founders,  Shipherd  and  Stewart.  Kenyon  was,  like 
Oberlin,  hewn  out  of  the  wilderness  by  Bishop  Chase, 


WEALTH  AND  ENDOWMENT, 


145 


supported  by  five  thousand  guineas  from  England. 
The  large  majority  of  the  better  colleges  of  the  West, 
founded  between  1840  and  1880,  have  been  obliged 
to  contend,  year  after  year,  against  the  most  com- 
mon and  pressing  wants.  Their  students  have  been 
few,  and  these  few  as  poor  in  purse  as  the  college. 
The  salaries  of  their  professors  have  too  frequently 
been  the  merest  pittance.  Their  funds  have  run  so 
low  that  bankruptcy  has  frequently  stared  them  in 
the  face.  They  have  been  aided  by  donations  from 
the  churches  of  the  religious  denominations  which 
they  represent.  Their  presidents  have  besieged  the 
liberal  and  wealthy  men  of  the  East  for  gifts  or  be- 
quests. Many  of  them  are  now  firmly  established ; 
but  some  others,  not  a  few,  cannot  yet  see  the  dawn 
of  their  financial  prosperity. 

Within  the  last  score  of  years  donations  to  the 
colleges  have  been  most  numerous  and  munificent. 
It  is  hardly  an  exaggeration  to  say,  that  since  i860  the 
colleges  have  received  amounts  fully  equal  to  their 
entire  valuation  in  that  year.  In  1847,  when  Abbott 
Lawrence  gave  fifty  thousand  dollars  to  Harvard,  it 
was  said  to  be  "  the  largest  amount  ever  given  at 
one  time  during  the  lifetime  of  the  donor  to  any 
public  institution  in  this  country."  Several  colleges 
and  universities  have  within  this  period  been  founded 
with  endowments  sufficient  from  their  very  begin- 


146  AMERICAN  COLLEGES, 

ning  to  make  them  independent  of  the  whim  of  leg- 
islatures or  of  the  income  of  tuition  fees.  Cornell 
University  received  by  a  Congressional  land-grant 
nearly  a  million  acres,  besides  five  hundred  thousand 
dollars  from  Ezra  Cornell,  whose  name  it  perpetu- 
ates. Vassar  also  began  with  a  gift  of  more  than 
four  hundred  thousand  dollars  from  Matthew  Vassar. 
Smith  received  before  its  doors  were  open  about 
half  a  million  from  Sophia  Smith.  Wellesley  was  at 
the  outset  well  endowed  by  Henry  F.  Durant.  The 
Johns  Hopkins  University  possessed,  before  it  had 
enrolled  a  single  student,  not  less  than  three  millions 
of  dollars.  The  older  colleges  have  added  vastly  to 
their  resources  within  these  last  two  decades.  Har- 
vard's property  has  tripled  in  value ;  Yale's  in  the 
various  departments  has  increased  by  not  less  than  a 
million  and  a  half ;  Princeton's  by  more  than  a  mill- 
ion, and  Dartmouth's  by  a  large  amount.  During 
President  Stearns'  administration  Of  twenty-two 
years,  Amherst  received  more  than  eight  hundred 
thousand  dollars. 

If,  as  the  Commissioner  of  Education  has  stated, 
over  fifty  millions  of  dollars  have  been  given  to  the 
educational  institutions  of  the  United  States,  more 
than  thirty  millions  were  given  to  the  colleges  in  the 
eighth  decade  of  the  present  century.  The  amounts 
given  in  each  of  the  years  cire  as  follows : 


WEALTH  AND  ENDOWMENT.  147 

1871 $8,435,990* 

1872. 6,282,461 

1873 8,238, 141 

1874 • 1,845,354 

1875 2,703,650 

1876 2,743,248 

1877 1.273,991 

1878 1,389.633 

1879 3.878,648 

1880 2,666,571 

These  sums  were  contributed  in  amounts  running 
from  a  few  dollars  to  hundreds  of  thousands,  and  in 
a  few  instances  to  millions.  Among  the  most  mu- 
nificent of  the  benefactors,  in  addition  to  several 
already  named,  are  George  Peabody,  Mrs.  Valeria 
G.  Stone,  of  Maiden,  Mass. ;  Ario  Pardee,  of  Hazle- 
ton.  Pa. ;  John  C.  Green,  of  New  York  ;  Henry  W. 
Sage,  of  Brooklyn ;  Samuel  Williston,  of  Easthamp- 
ton,  Mass. ;  Joseph  E.  Sheffield ;  Amasa  Stone,  of 
Ohio ;  Nathan  Matthews  and  Nathaniel  Thayer,  of 
Boston,  and  Alexander  Agassiz,  of  Cambridge.  The 
roll  might  be  lengthened  to  indefinite  limits,  but 
these  names  represent  the  larger  gifts.  The  gifts  of 
the  younger  Agassiz  in  carrying  on  the  Museum 
which  his  father  founded  already  exceed  three  hun- 


*  All  Educational  Purposes. 


148  AMERICAN  COLLEGES, 

dred  thousand  dollars.  Nathan  Matthews  and 
Nathaniel  Thayer  have  each  given  more  than  a 
quarter  of  a  million  to  Harvard  University.  Amasa 
Stone  gave  five  hundred  thousand  dollars  to  the 
institution  bearing  the  name  of  Western  Reserve 
College,  and  now  bearing  that  of  Adelbert  Univer- 
sity. Samuel  Williston  gave  one  hundred  and  fifty 
thousand  to  Amherst  College,  and  richly  endowed 
the  seminary  at  Easthampton  which  bears  his  name. 
Joseph  E.  Sheffield  gave  to  the  Scientific  School  of 
Yale  College  nearly  four  hundred  thousand  dollars. 
The  gifts  of  Henry  W.  Sage  and  Ezra  Cornell 
to  the  university  at  Ithaca,  N.  Y.,  aggregate  more 
than  a  million.  To  Princeton,  John  C.  Green  gave 
seven  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  dollars;  and  to 
Lafayette  Ario  Pardee  has,  since  1864,  given  at 
different  intervals  more  than  half  a  million.  The 
largest  single  bequest  ever  made,  at  least  in  this 
country,  if  not  in  any  country,  to  an  educational  in- 
stitution is  the  three  millions  (or  more)  which  Johns 
Hopkins,  a  Baltimore  merchant,  gave  to  found  a 
university  which  transmits  his  name. 

George  Peabody  gave  about  eight  millions  to  be- 
nevolent objects,  of  which  about  one  quarter  forms 
the  "  Southern  Educational  Fund."  To  Yale  and 
Harvard  he  gave  each  one  hundred  and  fifty  thou- 
sand dollars ;  to  Washington  College,  Virginia,  sixty 


WEALTH  AND  ENDOWMENT.  149 

thousand ;  to  Kenyon,  Ohio,  twenty-five  thousand ; 
and  to  various  scientific  institutions  about  a  mill- 
ion and  a  half,  two-thirds  of  which  endowed  the 
Institute  at  Baltimore. 

In  respect  to  the  geographical  distribution  of  these 
benefactions  it  is  evident  that  wherever  the  greatest 
wealth  is  combined  with  the  highest  degree  of  intel- 
ligence they  are  the  largest.  If  the  people  of  the 
State  are  wealthy,  but  are  not  of  a  high  order  of 
intelligence,  they  will  not  give  generously  to  the 
endowment  of  colleges.  If  they  are  highly  intelli- 
gent, but  poor  in  purse,  as  the  people  of  Maine,  for 
instance,  they  cannot  give.  If  they  are  lacking  in 
both  intelligence  and  wealth,  as  they  are  in  too  many 
of  the  Southern  States,  they  also  cannot  give.  But 
wherever  they  are  both  wealthy  and  intelligent,  as 
in  New  York  and  Massachusetts,  the  benevolences 
are  the  most  liberal.  From  the  Eastern  States,  in 
which  the  highest  degrees  of  wealth  and  education 
are  combined,  a  large  proportion  of  the  gifts  which 
are  received  in  the  West  and  South  are  derived. 
These  general  statements  are  illustrated  in  the  fol- 
lowing table,  which  represents  the  gifts  made 
to  the  collegiate  institutions  of  the  different 
States: — 


ISO 


AMERICAN  COLLEGES, 


GIFTS  TO   COLLEGES  AND   UNIVERSITIES. 


1879.  1880. 

Alabama... $600                    

Arkansas 

California 

Colorado 8,068  $87,000 

Connecticut 150,000  5,000 

Delaware *  478,000 

Florida 

Georgia 7i5oo  3,617 

Illinois 114,000  67,909 

Indiana 3, 100  31,338 

Iowa 40,650  64,650 

Kansas 5, 500  10,500 

Kentucky 18,808 

Louisiana 25,925  310 

Maine 19,600  90,250 

Maryland 11,000                    

Massachusetts 424,984  293,632 

Michigan 15, 578  36,967 

Minnesota ^        5.589  39,647 

Mississippi 500                    

Missouri 19,853  104,820 

Nebraska 15,000  4,800 

New  Hampshire 70,000 

New  Jersey 165,000  138,500 

New  York 112,732  510,144 

North  Carolina 24,580  14,517, 

Ohio 104,202  141,895 

Oregon 17,200  8,500 

Pennsylvania 2,095,350  194,750 

Carried  forward $3,387, S"             $2,415,554 


1879. 

1880. 

13,387,511 

12,415,554 

Si.ooo 

38,000 

9,100 

2,175 

141,162 

86,350 

185,625 

8,150 

15,000 

30.854 

3,000 

70 

87,200 

82,965 

2,453 

50 

WEAL  TH  AND  ENDO  WMENT.  \  5 1 

1879. 

Brought  forward $3,387,511 

Rhode  Island 

South  CaroUna 

Tennessee 

Texas 

Vermont 

Virginia »   . . 

West  Virginia 

Wisconsin 

District  of  Columbia 

New  Mexico 

Utah 

Washington 

Total $3,878,648  $2,666,571 

About  one-third  of  these  amounts  was  given  to  the 
colleges  in  New  England,  and  somewhat  more  than, 
one-half  to  the  colleges  of  the  seaboard  States.  In 
New  Hampshire,  Massachusetts,  Pennsylvania,  New 
York,  and  Colorado,  the  largest  gifts  fell. 

Of  the  usefulness  of  gifts  and  bequests  made  to 
colleges  there  is  no  question.  So  long  as  the  colleges 
are  designed  to  promote  learning,  to  ennoble  char- 
acter, and  to  foster  righteousness,  so  long  will  the 
endowment  of  them  prove  beneficent.  Even  if  the 
State  should  establish,  as  has  been  done  in  several 
Commonwealths,  a  university  for  the  training  of  its 
youth,  and  allow  them  to  resort  thither  with  the 
same  freedom  as  to  its  other  public  schools,  it  is 


152 


AMERICAN  COLLEGES, 


clear  that  in  other  Commonwealths  the  best  colleges 
are,  and  for  generations  Will  be,  those  endowed  by 
individual  citizens.  It  is  also  clear  that  a  college 
cannot  meet  its  barest  expenses  from  its  natural 
source  of  income — the  tuition  fees.  Even  Harvard, 
with  a  fee  double  or  triple  that  of  most  colleges, 
spent  in  a  recent  year  twenty  thousand  dollars  more 
than  it  received  from  students ;  and  this  cost  was  ex- 
clusive of  the  expense  of  the  library  and  of  the  gen- 
eral administration.  Endowment  is  essential  to  the 
continued  existence  of  a  college. 

The  important  question,  in  which  part  of  the 
United  States  is  the  need  of  educational  endow- 
ments most  pressing,  is  not  easily  answered.  Presi- 
dent Magoun,  of  Iowa  College,  affirms  "that  the 
next  fifteen  milHons  of  dollars  for  higher  institutions 
of  learning  should  come  West."  In  1871,  before 
assuming  the  presidency  of  Dartmouth  College, 
Professor  Bartlett  asserted  that  there  "  was  afar  more 
vital  need  elsewhere  "  than  on  the  Atlantic  coast  for 
the  fifteen  millions  of  dollars  which  up  to  that  year 
had  been  given  to  the  Atlantic  colleges.  But  Presi- 
dent Eliot  constantly  declares  that,  in  relation  to  its 
financial  demands.  Harvard  must  be  regarded  as  a 
poor,  and  not  as  she  is  usually  considered  a  rich, 
college.  At  the  beginning  of  the  last  decade  the 
benefactions  to  Western  colleges  amounted  to  one- 


WEALTH  AND  ENDOWMENT.  153 

eighth  of  those  to  Eastern.  Up  to  the  year  1871 
the  largest  individual  donation  made  to  a  Western 
college  was  fifty  thousand  dollars, — a  sum  which 
was  given  by  Mr.  Carleton,  of  Boston,  to  found  the 
institution  in  Minnesota  which  honors  his  name. 
One  method  of  determining  the  place  wherein  lies 
the  greatest  need  of  additional  endowment  con- 
sists in  comparing  the  amount  of  the  funds  which 
the  colleges  of  a  State  possess  with  the  population 
of  that  State:  — 

p.  ,.  Proportion  of 

Population,  CnlWiat.^      Endowment 

Census  1880.  p-^nllS!^*        to  Each 

(Earlier  Report.)        Endowment.       p^^^^„ 

Alabama 1,262,344  $807,000  $  .63 

Arkansas 802,564  61,000  .07 

California 864,686  2,298,000  2.64 

Colorado 194,649  130,000  .66 

Connecticut 622,683  1,060,000  1. 54 

Delaware 146,654  158,000  1.07 

Georgia 1,538,983  1,115,000  .72 

Illinois 3,078,636  4,686,000  1.52 

Indiana 1,978,358  1,900,000  .96 

Iowa 1,624,463  1,829,000  I.  II 

Kansas 995,335  457,ooo  .45 

Kentucky 1,648,599  1,126,000  .68 

Louisiana 940,263  448,000  .47 

Maine 648,945  1,451,000  2.23 

Maryland 935,139  3,408,000  3.63 

Massachusetts 1,783,086  6,175,000  3.40 

Michigan 1,634,096  1,646,000  I. GO 

Carried  forward 128,745,000 


154  AMERICAN  COLLEGES, 

^      ,    .                   Fnfir*>  Proportion  of 

Population,           Colleeiate  Endowment 

Census  x88o.        EndoXnt.  %^^ 

Brought  forward  ....   $28,745,000 

Minnesota 780,807               804,000  $1.02-1 

Mississippi 1,131,899               491,000  .43 

Missouri 2,169,091             1,888,000  .87 

Nebraska 452^432                241,000  .53 

Nevada 62,265                 .... 

New  Hampshire 347.784               550,ooo  i .  58 

New  Jersey 1,130,892            2,393,000  2. 11 

New  York 5,083,173           14,794,000  2.91 

North  Carolina 1,400,000               646,000  .45 

Ohio.. 3,197,794            4,687,000  -1. 46 

Oregon 174,767                463,000  2.59 

Pennsylvania 4,282,738             8,940,650  2.08 

Rhode  Island 276,528                600,000  2.16 

South  Carolina 995,706                722,000  .  72 

Tennessee 1,542,463            2,422,000  1.57 

Texas 1,597,509               444,000  .27 

Vermont 332,286                686,000  2.06 

Virginia 1,512,203             1,950,000  1,28 

West  Virginia 618, 193                602,000  .  97 

Wisconsin 1,315,386             1,650,000  1.25 

District  of  Columbia 177,638             1,010,000  5 .68 

Utah 143,907                 

Washington 75, 120                105,000  1.39 

Total $74,943,000  $1 .49 

These  comparisons  contain  very  interesting  data. 
They  show  that  the  largest  amount  invested  in  col- 
leges, in  relation  to  the  number  of  inhabitants,  is 


WEAL  TH  AND  ENDO  WMENT.  1 5  5 

found  in  the  District  of  Columbia ;  that  of  any  State 
the  largest  is  found  in  Maryland,  and  the  next  to  the 
largest  in  Massachusetts.  Having  less  than  three  dol- 
lars and  more  than  two  for  each  inhabitant  are,  in  their 
order.  New  York,  California,  Oregon,  Maine,  Rhode 
Island,  New  Jersey,  Pennsylvania,  and  Vermont ; 
having  less  than  two  and  more  than  one,  are  New 
Hampshire,  Tennessee,  Connecticut,  Illinois,  Ohio, 
Washington,  Virginia,  Wisconsin,  Iowa,  Delaware, 
Minnesota,  and  Michigan  ;  and  having  less  than  one, 
are  West  Virginia,  Indiana,  Missouri,  Georgia,  South 
Carolina,  Kentucky,  Colorado,  Alabama,  Nebraska, 
Louisiana,  Kansas,  North  Carolina,  Mississippi,  Tex- 
as, and  Arkansas.  A  large  proportion  of  the  West- 
ern States  have  less  than  two  and  more  than  one 
dollar  an  inhabitant ;  and  a  yet  larger  proportion  of 
the  Southern  States  have  less  than  one. 

By  comparing  yet  further  the  population  of  these 
States  with  the  endowments  of  their  colleges,  some 
remarkable  contrasts  are  made  evident.  New  Jersey 
and  Mississippi  have  the  same  population,  yet  the 
colleges  of  the  former  have  fourfold  the  endowment 
of  the  Southern  State.  Virginia  and  Texas  have  near- 
ly the  same  population,  yet  the  State  in  which  Jeffer- 
son founded  a  university  has  nearly  five  times  the 
college  property  which  Texas  has.  The  population 
of  New  York  exceeds  that  of  North  Carolina  nearly 


156  AMERICAN  COLLEGES. 

four  times,  but  its  college  endowments  exceed  those 
of  North  Carolina  more  than  twenty  times.  Mary- 
land, Louisiana,  and  Kansas  have  each  a  population 
between  nine  hundred  thousand  and  a  million,  yet 
Maryland's  college  property  is  eight  times  in  excess 
of  that  of  either  of  the  other  two  States.  California 
has  a  population  slightly  larger  than  that  of  Arkan- 
sas, yet  the  endowments  of  its  colleges  are  thirty- 
seven  times  larger.  The  ten  New  England  and 
Middle  States  possess  twenty-eight  per  cent,  of  the 
entire  population,  and  forty-seven  per  cent,  of  the 
college  property.  The  Western  States  have  thirty- 
two  per  cent,  of  the  population,  and  twenty-eight 
per  cent,  of  the  college  property.  The  Southern 
States  have  thirty-six  per  cent,  of  the  population, 
and  twenty-one  per  cent,  of  the  college  property. 
Assuming,  therefore,  population  as  a  basis,  the  great- 
est demand  for  additional  endowments  is  in  the  South. 

The  wealth  and  endowment  of  the  English  uni- 
versities shed  light  upon  the  financial  standing  of 
the  American  colleges. 

Previous  to  the  appointment  of  the  English  Uni- 
versities Commission,  ten  years  ago,  the  amount  of 
the  property  and  of  the  income  of  Oxford  and  of 
Cambridge  was  unknown  to  the  public.  Founded 
as  early  as  the  fifteenth,  the  fourteenth,  and  even  the 
thirteenth  century,  the  colleges  were  jealous  of  any 


WEAL  TH  AND  ENDO  WMENT,  \  57 

interference  in  rights  and  privileges  which  time  had 
rendered  sacred.  Endowed  with  property  that  was 
certainly  large,  they  managed  their  lands  and  securi- 
ties and  expended  their  income,  responsible  only  to 
themselves.  The  Royal  Commission,  appointed  on 
the  5th  of  January,  1872,  and  whose  report  was  pub- 
lished in  1874,  revealed  for  the  first  time  in  their  long 
history  the  financial  standing  of  the  universities  and 
of  the  associated  colleges.  It  is  worthy  of  mention, 
in  passing,  that  this  report  has  in  England  received 
much  less  attention  than  its  authors  had  a  right  to  ex- 
pect, and  in  this  country  it  has  been  scarcely  noticed, 
even  by  those  interested  in  university  questions. 

But  even  with  the  tables  of  this  report,  volumi- 
nous and  exact  as  they  indeed  are,  it  is  impossible  to 
form  a  thoroughly  satisfactory  estimate  of  the  value 
of  the  university  and  college  property.  The  property 
is  of  various  kinds,  being  classified  by  the  commis- 
sioners under  six  heads — "  lands,"  "  house  property," 
"  tithe  rent  charges,'*  *'  other  rent  charges,  such  as 
fee  farm  rents  and  fixed  charges,"  "  stocks,  shares, 
and  other  securities  of  a  similar  kind,"  and  "other 
properties,  such  as  fines  and  other  profits  from  copy- 
holds of  inheritance,  minerals,  timber,  etc."  Its 
money  value  it  is,  therefore,  difficult  to  fix.  The 
quantity  of  land,  however,  held  by  the  universities 
and  colleges  is  known  with  exactness.     It  comprises 


158 


AMERICAN  COLLEGES, 


319,718  acres,  exclusive  of  "copyholds  of  inherit 
ance."  Of  this  amount  7,683  acres  belong  to  the  Uni- 
versity of  Oxford,  and  184,764  acres  to  its  colleges 
and  halls ;  2,445  acres  to  the  University  of  Cambridge, 
and  1 24,826  acres  to  its  colleges.  With  the  exception 
of  a  small  quantity  of  woodland,  the  entire  ajnount 
is  leased.  It  is  distributed  throughout  England 
and  Wales,  but  the  larger  proportion  is  found  in  the 
southern  counties.  To  Oxford  University  it  yields 
an  annual  income  of  about  ;f  12,000;  to  its  colleges 
and  halls,  ;^  17 1,000;  to  Cambridge  University, 
;^3,ioo,  and  to  its  colleges,  ;^  132,000. 

The  worth  of  the  property,  however,  of  the  insti- 
tutions can  be  more  exactly  judged  by  their  incomes 
than  by  any  approximation  of  its  mere  amount. 
During  the  last  year  for  which  the  data  can  be  ob- 
tained, the  income  from  lands  and  other  properties 
was  as  follows: — 


University 

of 

Oxford. 

University 
Cambridge. 

Colleges  and 
Halls  of  Ox- 
ford. 

Colleges  of 
Cambridge. 

Total. 

Lands 

£      J.  d. 
12,083    0    4 
1,162  14    2 
490  19   .7 
872    6    9 
12,939    6    9 
1,494  16    2 

£      *.   d. 
3,148  19    8 

156  10    0 
1,784  14    5 

33316    6 
7,648    9    0 

844  19    2 

£       *.    d. 

170.090  II     ■;■% 
=6,833    6    3 
34,152  15    8 

4,092  14  10 
24.242     7  loj^ 
13.574  14    3 

6,289    0    6 
27.194    6    2 

£       ..    d 
132.670    0    6 
25,993    8    2 
54,286    1    I 

3.943    a    2 
16,508    7    S 
20.365    8    8J^ 

1,764    9  10 

£       s.    d. 

318,893  12    i% 
54,145  18    7 
90,714  10    9 
9,242   0    3 
61.338  11    0% 
36,279  18  354 

8,053  10     4 

27,194    6    2 

Tithe  rent  charges 

Other  rent  charges 

Stocks,  shares,  etc 

Other  properties 

Special  endowment .... 
Jj>;^ns 

Total 

307.369  17    2 

264,256  17  loj^ 

614,587    7    65i 

WEALTH  AND  ENDOWMENT. 


159 


The  universities  and  colleges  have  a  second  source 
of  income.  It  embraces  the  various  fees  paid  by 
students.  The  tuition  fees  at  Oxford  are  ^21  a 
year,  and  at  Cambridge  ;^i8.  With  them,  the 
charges  for  the  rent  of  rooms  and  other  small 
payments  constitute  the  entire  internal  income.  The 
following  tables  exhibit  the  total  amount  of  both 
the  internal  and  the  external  income ;  under  the  ex- 
ternal income  is  included  that  derived  from  lands, 
securities  and  other  property  : — 


External 
Income. 

Internal 
Income. 

Total  corpo- 
rate  (external 
and  internal) 
income- 

Income 

from  Trust 

Funds. 

Tuition  fees 
paid  by 
•under- 
graduates. 

University  of  Oxford  .... 

Colleges^  and    Halls  of 

Oxford       

£      *.  d. 

13,605    4    6 
271,952  17    0 

&      s.  d. 
i8,S4S  16    6 

58,883  19    1 

£      *.  d. 
32.151    I   0 

330.83616   I 

£     s.  d. 
15^437  19    3 

35.417    0    2 

£     s.  d. 

30,761    3   4 

Total  

285,558    1    6 

3,509  10  11 
229,621    0    2% 

77.429  »S    7 

20,133    8    6 
42,254  13    6 

362,987  17    I 

23,642  19    5 
278,970  13    9.% 

50,854  19    5 

10,407  17  10 
27,540  17    8 

30,761   3   4 

University  of  Cambridge 
Colleges  of  Cambridge. . 

26,413  IS    0 

Total 

233.130  "    iK 

62,388    2    0 

302,613  13    1.% 

37,948  IS    6 

We  now  turn  to  consider  the  property  and  the  in- 
come of  American  colleges.  According  to  the  last 
report  of  the  United  States  Commissioner  of  Edu- 
cation, the  value  of  the  grounds,  buildings  and  ap- 
paratus of  three  hundred  and  sixty-four  colleges  is 
$39>623,424,  and   the  amount  of  productive  funds 


l6o  AMERICAN  COLLEGES. 

$43,431,520.  The  income  of  these  funds  is  $3,014,- 
048,  and  the  annual  income  derived  from  tuition  fees 
$1,881,360.  The  total  income  drawn  from  these  two 
sources  approaches  $5,000,000.  The  income  of  the 
universities  and  colleges  of  Oxford  and  of  Cambridge 
aggregates  $3,500,000.  But  while  about  two-fifths 
of  the  income  of  the  American  institutions  are  drawn 
from  tuition  fees,  the  English  institutions  depend 
upon  the  same  source  for  only  about  one-tenth  of 
their  income.  Thus  the  property  held  by  these  uni- 
versities and  their  thirty-six  allied  colleges  furnishes  a 
much  larger  proportion  of  their  income  than  the  lands 
and  funds  of  American  colleges  provide  for  their  sup- 
port. The  comparison,  however,  of  the  income  of 
several  of  the  wealthier  American  colleges  with  the 
income  of  the  colleges  of  Oxford  and  of  Cambridge 
indicates  that  the  American  institutions  possess  the 
larger  revenue.  The  University  of  California  has  an 
income  of  about  $100,000  from  invested  funds ;  its 
income  from  tuition  fees  is  quite  nothing.  Univer- 
sity College,  Oxford,  has  an  income  from  external 
sources  of  $45,000,  and  of  nearly  $10,000  from  tuition 
fees.  Yale  College  receives  about  $80,000  a  year 
from  productive  funds,  and  $100,000  from  tuition 
fees ;  but  the  five  colleges  of  Balliol,  Lincoln,  Trinity, 
Pembroke,  and  Worcester  have  a  total  income  not 
exceeding  $200,000.     Columbia  College  is  reported 


WEALTH  AND  ENDOWMENT.  i6l 

as  possessing  an  income  of  $313,565,  which  exceeds 
by  a  few  thousand  the  revenue  of  the  wealthiest 
college  —  Christ  Church.  Eight  colleges  of  Cam- 
bridge possess  an  annual  income  of  about  $600,000, 
a  sum  that  is  only  $50,000  larger  than  the  combined 
incomes  of  Columbia  and  of  Harvard.  The  receipts 
in  all  the  departments  of  Harvard  University  for  the 
year  1879-80  were  $600,000,  and  in  the  college  $236,- 
000.  The  former  amount  is  double  that  received 
by  any  Oxford  or  Cambridge  college.  Yet,  though 
the  income  of  the  richer  American  colleges  is  larger 
than  the  revenue  of  the  English,  many  colleges  on 
these  shores  are  much  poorer  than  the  poorest  of  the 
English.  Scores  of  institutions  which  afford  students 
a  respectable  education,  and  whose  graduates  are 
numbered  by  hundreds,  receive  an  income  of  less 
than  $10,000  each  year.  They  are  to  be  found  in 
nearly  every  State  of  the  Union. 

The  expenditures  of  the  institutions  of  the  two 
countries  show  as  striking  a  difference  in  respect  to- 
amount  and  character  as  their  incomes  exhibit.  In  the 
English,  about  one-third  of  the  total  revenue  is  con- 
sumed by  the  salaries  of  the  Fellows,  about  one-tenth 
by  the  salaries  of  the  heads  of  the  colleges,  and  still 
another  tenth  by  payments  made  to  the  "  scholars 
and  exhibitioners."  The  remainder,  one-half  of  the 
entire  amount,  is  devoted  to  no  less  than  eighteen 
II 


l62  AMERICAN  COLLEGES, 

different  purposes.  A  portion  forms  an  allowance 
to  residents,  a  portion  is  Credited  to  the  salaries  of 
the  university  professors,  a  portion  is  allotted  to  the 
chapel,  a  portion  goes  to  the  library,  and  a  portion 
is  used  in  paying  rates  and  taxes. 

In  American  colleges  more  than  one-half  the  in- 
come is  spent  in  the  salaries  of  professors  and  in- 
structors. Few  colleges  make  public  reports  of  their 
financial  standing,  and  it  is  therefore  difficult  to  ob- 
tain the  facts  in  reference  to  expenditures.  The 
treasurer  of  Harvard,  however,  makes  a  full  annual 
exhibit  of  his  accounts.  The  total  expenditures  of 
Harvard  College  were,  in  1879-80,  $212,542.22,  of 
which  somewhat  more  than  one-half — $133,991.87 — 
was  devoted  to  the  salaries  of  instructors;  $24,- 
025.27  was  used  in  the  payment  of  scholarships  to 
undergraduates  whose  scholastic  rank  and  pecuniary 
need  entitled  them  to  receive  aid ;  the  remaining 
$54,000 — about  one-fourth  of  the  entire  expenditure 
— was  employed  in  uses  quite  as  various  as  those  to 
which  one-half  of  the  revenue  of  the  English  uni- 
versities IS  devoted.  Repairs  on  the  college  build- 
ings, apparatus  for  laboratories,  services  of  janitors, 
fuel,  printing,  and  other  objects  equally  diverse,  con- 
sumed the  balance. 

The  expenses  for  instruction  are,  relative  to  the 
entire  expenditure,  much  greater  in  the  American 


WEALTH  AND  ENDOWMENT,  163 

college.  This  is  due  to  the  private  nature  of  a  large 
proportion  of  the  instruction  in  the  English  univer- 
sities. The  salaries  of  Oxford  and  of  Cambridge 
professors  vary  as  largely  as  the  salaries  of  the  pro- 
fessors in  a  hundred  American  colleges.  The  highest 
salary  paid  at  either  of  the  universities  is  that  at- 
tached to  the  Lady  Margaret  Professorship  of  Divin- 
ity at  Cambridge.  Its  amount  is  ;^  1,854  17s.  lod. 
The  lowest  salary  appears  to  be  that  belonging  to 
the  Lord  Almoner's  Professorship  of  Arabic,  which 
is  £AfO  I  OS.  At  Oxford  are  only  five  professorships 
commanding  more  than  ;^  1,000,  and  at  Cambridge 
only  two.  The  fifty-one  professors,  readers  and  search- 
ers of  Oxford  receive  on  an  average  an  annual  salary 
of  ;^488,  and  the  thirty-seven  of  Cambridge  ;^457. 

Although  in  the  American  college  instructors  of 
the  same  grade  usually  receive  the  same  salary,  in 
the  different  colleges  salaries  differ  to  nearly  the 
extent  found  in  the  English  universities.  A  full 
professor  in  Columbia  College  receives  $7,500,  in 
Harvard  $4,500,  and  in  most  colleges,  as  Dartmouth, 
Amherst,  Williams,  Bowdoin,  amounts  varying  from 
$1,700  to  $2,500.  There  are  many  colleges  in  the 
Western  States  whose  professors  are  obliged  to  be 
content  with  a  pittance  of  $1,000  a  year. 

The  cost  of  the  education  of  each  student  is  much 
greater  at  the  English  universities.     Deducting  from 


1 64  AMERICAN  COLLEGES, 

the  entire  annual  expenditure  of  Oxford  the  amount 
paid  the  Fellows,  the  balance  of  about  ;^25o,(X)0  is 
either  directly  or  indirectly  devoted  to  the  education 
of  about  eighteen  hundred  students.  The  annual  ex- 
penditure for  each  undergraduate  is,  therefore,  about 
$700.  At  Cambridge  the  expenditure  is  about  $100 
less.  Of  the  American  colleges  few,  if  any  spend  a 
larger  amount  than  Harvard.  The  annual  cost  to  it 
of  each  student  does  not  exceed  $300,  and  probably 
falls  somewhat  below.  It  is  to  be  remembered,  how- 
ever, that  the  number  of  students  in  the  college 
department  of  Harvard  is  about  equal  to  one-half  of 
those  in  the  entire  university  of  either  Oxford  or 
Cambridge,  and  it  is  well  known  that  the  greater  the 
number  of  students  the  less  is  the  relative  cost  of 
instruction  of  each. 

By  this  review  of  the  comparative  financial  show- 
ing of  the  two  great  English  universities  and  of 
American  colleges,  it  is  made  evident  that  the  richer 
American  institutions  enjoy  a  larger  income  and 
make  larger  expenditures  than  the  ordinary  college 
of  either  Oxford  or  Cambridge.  When  one  considers 
that  the  oldest  college  on  these  shores  has  not  at- 
tained one-half  the  age  of  several  of  the  English 
institutions,  this  comparative  position  becomes  most 
creditable  to  the  generosity  and  to  the  intelligence 
of  the  American  people. 


WEALTH  AND  ENDOWMENT.  165 

It  IS  also  made  clear  that  the  newer  institutions 
possess  a  great  advantage  in  the  freedom  from  the 
necessity  of  maintaining  an  elaborate  establishment. 
College  officers  and  servants,  subscriptions  and  pen- 
sions, the  management  of  estates  and  the  augmenta- 
tion of  benefices,  consume  a  no  small  share  of  the 
income  of  the  English  universities.  The  Fellowship 
system  demands  one-third  of  their  revenue.  In 
America  the  larger  proportion  of  all  the  income  is 
devoted  directly  to  the  payment  of  services  of  in- 
struction. 


l66  AMERICAN  COLLEGES, 


CHAPTER  XII. 

A  NATIONAL  UNIVERSITY. 

The  project  of  a  National  University  is  not  new. 
Its  establishment  has  been  recommended  by  several 
of  the  Presidents  of  the  United  States,  and  urged 
by  able  statesmen.  It  lay,  in  common  with  the 
whole  cause  of  public  education,  near  the  heart  of 
Washington.  In  letters  addressed  to  Adams  and  to 
Hamilton  the  first  President  argued  for  its  founda- 
tion. In  his  eighth  annual  message  he  proposed  to 
the  consideration  of  Congress  the  expediency  of  estab- 
lishing a  National  University  and  a  Military  Acade- 
my. So  important  did  he  regard  the  subject  that  in 
his  last  will  he  treats  it  at  considerable  length.  "  It 
has  always  been  a  source  of  serious  regret  with  me," 
he  writes,  "  to  see  the  youth  of  these  United  States 
sent  to  foreign  countries  for  the  purpose  of  educa- 
tion, often  before  their  minds  were  formed,  or  they 


A  NATIONAL  UNIVERSITY.  167 

had  imbibed  any  adequate  ideas  of  the  happiness  of 
their  own  ;  contracting  too  frequently  not  only  habits 
of  dissipation  and  extravagance,  but  principles  un- 
friendly to  republican  government,  and  to  the  true 
and  genuine  liberties  of  mankind."  For  the  removal 
of  these  evils,  and  for  spreading  "  systematic  ideas 
through  all  parts  of  this  rising  empire,"  and  for  doing 
away  with  ''  local  attachments  and  State  prejudices," 
he  sees  no  plan  more  feasible  than  the  "  establish- 
ment of  a  university  in  the  central  part  of  the  United 
States."  And  in  behalf  of  its  establishment  Wash- 
ington went  so  far  as  to  bequeath  fifty  shares  of 
the  stock  of  the  Potomac  Company.  The  Govern- 
ment, however,  failed  to  foster  the  project,  and  it 
was  not,  therefore,  realized. 

Jefferson  also  (the  founder  of  the  University  of 
Virginia)  recommended  to  Congress,  in  his  sixth  an- 
nual message,  the  establishment  of  a  National  Uni- 
versity. Its  endowment  might  be  carved,  he  pointed 
out,  from  donations  of  the  public  lands,  or  from 
funds  of  the  National  Treasury,  but  not,  in  the 
latter  case,  however,  without  an  amendment  to  the 
Constitution.  He  argues  that  "a  public  institution 
can  alone  supply  those  sciences  which,  though  rarely 
called  for,  are  yet  necessary  to  complete  the  circle, 
all  the  parts  of  which  contribute  to  the  improvement  of 
the  country,  and  some  of  them  to  its  preservation." 


l68  AMERICAN  COLLEGES, 

Madison  and  John  Adams  likewise  strongly  urged 
the  foundation  of  the  university.  The  advantages  of 
the  scheme  Madison  Numerates  at  considerable 
length  :  "  By  enlightening  the  opinions,  by  expand- 
ing the  patriotism,  and  by  assimilating  the  princi- 
ples, the  sentiments,  and  the  manners  of  those  who 
resort  to  this  temple  of  science,  sectional  sources  of 
jealousy  and  prejudice  would  be  diminished,  the 
features  of  national  character  would  be  multiplied, 
and  greater  extent  given  to  national  harmony."  Ad- 
vantages, it  must  be  confessed,  which  are  rather 
vague,  and  which  Congress,  under  neither  Madison 
nor  Adams,  attempted  to  realize. 

Not  only,  however,  have  these  and  other  Presidents 
presented  the  claims  of  an  American  University, 
but  many  educators  and  associations  of  educators 
have  also  urged  its  foundation.  A  committee  of  the 
National  Teachers*  Association  presented  in  1870  a 
report  that  was  both  an  argument  and  an  appeal  for 
the  establishment  of  a  National  University.  From 
time  to  time,  both  in  political  and  in  educational 
documents,  it  is  asserted  that  the  great  need  of 
American  education  is  a  university  situated  in  a 
central  part  of  the  country,  and  supported  by  the 
Government. 

-    Opposition  to  the  foundation  of  such  an  institu- 
tion is  not,  in  my  opinion,  to  be  based  upon  a  want 


A  NATIONAL  UNIVERSITY.  169 

of  constitutional  authority.  That  the  Constitution 
confers  upon  Congress  the  right  to  provide  for  edu- 
cation is  at  the  present  time  the  opinion  of  the  large 
majority  of  statesmen  and  jurists.  If  education  is 
not  embraced  in  the  "general  welfare  of  the  United 
States  "  *  it  is  difficult  to  know  what  that  clause  does 
include.  From  other  sources  than  the  Constitution, 
however,  objections  to  the  scheme  may  be  drawn 
which  deserve  serious  attention. 

The  general  argument  by  which  the  proposition 
for  the  establishment  of  a  National  University  has 
been  supported  for  the  space  of  nearly  a  hundred 
years,  and  by  statesmen  of  the  most  diverse  degrees 
of  culture,  may  be  embraced  in  the  remark  that  it  is 
the  duty  of  the  American  Government  to  provide 
for  the  education  of  its  citizens.  It  is  thought  to  be 
opposed  to  the  spirit  of  republican  institutions  to 
refuse  any  educational  advantage,  however  great  be 
its  cost  or  limited  its  application.  As  it  is  confess- 
edly the  duty  of  the  Government  to  provide  for  the 
training  of  its  citizens  in  the  elementary  branches  of 
knowledge,  it  is  inferred  that  it  is  likewise  its  duty 
to  train  them  in  those  higher  branches  which  con- 
stitute what  is  commonly  termed  a  Hberal  education. 

The  fallacy  in  this  argument  is  easy  of  detection. 

♦Constitution,  Article  I.,  Section  8. 


170 


AMERICAN  COLLEGES, 


It  is  undoubtedly  the  duty  of  the  Government  to 
provide  for  elementary'  education.  Its  existence  is 
to  a  great  degree  conditioned  by  the  intelligence 
with  which  its  citizens  administer  its  concerns.  The 
United  S^tes  is  founded  on  a  book — that  book  is  a 
text-book,  and  that  text-book"  is  a  common-school 
text-book.  But  does  the  permanency  of  the  Gov- 
ernment hinge  upon  either  the  college,  the  university 
or  the  professional  school  ?  Has  its  existence  been 
imperiled  by  the  lack  of  a  National  University? 
Would  its  continuance  be  more  assured  by  the  foun- 
dation of  such  an  establishment  ? 

But,  it  may  be  urged,  though  the  mere  existence 
of  the  Government  is  not  dependent  upon  the  edu- 
cational institutions  of  advanced  standing,  as  it  is  de- 
pendent upon  the  common  school,  yet  its  prosperity 
would  be  enhanced  by  the  equipment  of  a  National 
University.  Were  there  no  other  institution  of  as 
high  a  grade,  the  foundation  of  a  National  University 
would,  without  doubt,  prove  to  be  of  untold  worth. 
But  already  those  interests  which  would  be  fostered 
by  a  National  University  are  abundantly  conserved 
by  scores  of  universities  and  colleges.  It  is  notori- 
ous that  the  United  States  has  more  colleges  than 
the  needs  of  the  higher  education  warrant ;  and  it  is 
equally  true  that  several  of  them  provide  as  thorough 
and  as  extended  a  training  as  a  national  institution 


A  NATIONAL  UNIVERSITY. 


171 


could  offer.  The  education  which  many  of  these  col- 
leges afford  is,  further,  as  free  as  the  United  States 
could  hope  to  give.  Harvard  University  distributes 
about  $40,000  a  year  in  various  forms  among  needy 
students.  It  turns  no  worthy  student  away  for  lack 
of  funds.  Many  other  colleges  possess  endowments 
for  the  single  purpose  of  giving  an  education  to 
those  who  are  unable  to  pay  for  it.  In  no  less  than 
seventeen  States  the  State  University  is  open  to 
every  resident.  A  National  University  could  hardly 
hope  to  make  education  either  more  free  or  more 
valuable  than  it  now  is. 

Perhaps  the  strongest  objection  to  the  proposed 
scheme  is  found  in  the  necessarily  temporary  char- 
acter of  its  methods  and  management.  It  could  not 
be  assured  of  permanency ;  and  of  permanency  all 
educational  institutions  especially  need  to  be  assured. 
A  National  University  would  be  either  directly  or 
indirectly  under  the  control  of  Congress.  If  it  was 
endowed  at  its  foundation  by  the  gift  of  several 
millions  of  dollars  it  would,  to  a  large  degree,  be 
freed  from  the  interference  of  the  Government  in 
respect  to  the  important  element  of  income.  But  if 
not  so  endowed^  it  would  be  compelled  to  beTan 
annual  suppliant  for  an  appropriation  to  discharge 
its  annual  expenses.  Its  professors,  too,  could  not 
but  feel   that  the  tenure  of   their  offices  was  not 


1/2 


AMERICAN  COLLEGES. 


secure.  Under  the  control  of  a  legislative  body,  not 
one-half  of  whose  members  are  liberally  educated, 
the  holders  of  professorships  would  be  convinced 
that  eminent  success,  neither  in  original  researches 
nor  in  instruction,  would  prevent  the  demand  for 
their  resignation.  That  department  in  which  the 
interests  of  the  Government  in  education  is  at 
present  most  manifest,  the  Bureau  of  Education, 
has  suffered  disastrous  changes,  the  like  of  which  a 
National  University  would  hardly  be  able  to  escape. 
EstabHshed  as  an  independent  department,  it  was 
afterward  reduced  to  a  branch  of  the  Interior  De- 
partment. The  salary  of  the  Commissioner,  fixed  at 
$4,000,  was  soon  cut  down  to  $3,000.  The  compen- 
sation of  his  assistants  suffered  a  corresponding  re- 
duction. A  Government  which  permits  so  important 
a  department  to  be  impeded  year  after  year  for  a 
lack  of  means — a  Government  which  allows  its  na- 
tional library  to  be  of  little  use  in  consequence  of 
the  mere  accumulation  of  its  riches — could  hardly 
be  asked  to  provide  fully  and  punctually  for  the 
needs  of  a  National  University. 

There  is,  further,  reason  to  fear  that  the  founda- 
tion of  a  National  University  would,  instead  of  in- 
creasing, as  is  claimed,  diminish  public  interest  in 
the  higher  education.  In  the  older  States,  at  least, 
this  cause  is  committed  directly  to  the  people.    They 


A  NATIONAL  UNIVERSITY,  173 

have,  therefore,  felt,  and  continue  to  feel,  an  interest 
in  it,  from  which  have  sprung  Yale,  Harvard,  and 
other  colleges  of  a  high  standing.  It  is  to  this  pub- 
lic regard  that  we  owe  the  munificent  foundations  of 
Johns  Hopkins,  of  George  Peabody,  of  John  C. 
Green,  and  of  Ezra  Cornell,  But  once  let  the  Gov- 
ernment assume  in  part  the  charge  of  university- 
education  and  the  regard  of  the  people  for  it  will 
diminish.  The  rich  will  not  make  gifts  or  devise 
bequests  to  an  institution  which  the  Government  is 
obliged  to  support. 

Many  objections  to  this  movement  are  to  be  dis- 
covered in  the  nature  and  functions  of  government. 
To  one  or  two  I  advert. 

The  establishment  and  organization  of  a  National 
University  would  increase  the  powers  of  the  Gov- 
ernment. That  this  is  the  fact  is  clear.  That  this 
increase  of  powers  is  an  evil  is  clear  to  one  who  ob- 
serves the  present  tendencies  of  our  Government. 
These  tendencies  are  all  in  the  line  of  the  augmenta- 
tion of  the  rights  and  duties  of  the  Government. 
This  augmentation  is  not  only  a  result  of  a  high  de- 
gree of  civilization,  but  it  is  also  an  effect  of  the 
continued  existence  of  democratic  institutions.  The 
danger  of  our  nation  is  not  in  being  governed  too 
little,  but  in  being  governed  too  much.  Any  move- 
ment, therefore,  which  would  result  in  an  increase 


174 


AMERICAN  COLLEGES, 


in  the  power  of  the  Government  should  be  viewed 
with  concern.  As  Mr.  Mill  has  finely  said  :  "  There 
never  was  more  necessity  for  surrounding  individual 
independence  of  thought,  speech  and  conduct  with 
the  most  powerful  defences,  in  order  to  maintain 
that  originality  of  mind  and  individuality  of  character, 
which  are  the  only  source  of  any  real  progress,  and 
of  most  of  the  qualities  which  make  the  human  race 
much  superior  to  any  herd  of  animals.  Hence  it  is 
no  less  important  in  a  democratic  than  in  any  other 
government,  that  all  tendency  on  the  part  of  public 
authorities  to  stretch  their  interference,  and  assume 
a  power  of  any  sort  which  can  easily  be  dispensed 
with,  should  be  regarded  with  unremitting  jealousy."* 
If  it  cannot  be  affirmed  that  the  establishment  of  a 
National  University  is  such  an  "  interference,"  it  is 
at  least  certain  that  its  organization  would  constantly 
invite  "  public  authorities  to  stretch  their  interfer- 
ence," and  would  render  such  interference  probable. 
With  an  increase  of  the  power  of  Government,  the 
establishment  of  a  National  University  would  neces- 
sitate also  an  increase  of  the  responsibilities  and 
duties  of  Government.  I f  Congress  could  completely 
surrender  the  superintendency  of  the  university  to 
a  board,  the  evil  of  the  additional  burden  would  not 

*  Political  Economy,   Book  V. ,  Chap.  xi. ,  §  3. 


A  NATIONAL  UNIVERSITY.  175 

be  worth  considering.  But  any  surrender  could  not 
be  complete.  Congress  would  be  constantly  asked 
to  examine  questions  relating  to  either  its  finances  or 
its  instruction.  With  all  the  topics  which  our  legis- 
lative body  is  at  present  obliged  to  consider,  there  is 
no  doubt  that  the  question  of  the  establishment  and 
organization  of  a  National  University  would  not 
receive  that  attention  which  its  grave  importance 
demands.  The  principle  of  the  division  of  labor  is 
not  applied  by  the  legislative  houses  of  either  the 
State  or  the  nation  with  that  exactness  which  results 
in  the  performance  of  the  largest  amount  of  the 
most  valuable  work.  Until  those  who  are  specially 
interested  in  the  higher  education  can  be  assured 
that  the  Government  is  both  willing  and  prepared  to 
assume  the  responsibility  of  the  care  of  a  great 
National  University,  they  must  hesitate  to  lay  an 
additional  duty  upon  Congress,  which  is  already  over- 
burdened. 

In  respect  to  the  intervention  of  the  Government 
in  affairs  which  the  people  themselves  can  perform, 
the  rule  of  laisser-fairc  should  be  followed.  The 
people  know  better  than  the  Government  what  they 
want,  and  also  know  better  how  to  supply  their 
wants.  As  the  keen  observer  from  whom  I  have 
already  quoted  says :  "  The  inferiority  of  government 
agency  in  any  of  the  common  operations  of  industry 


1^6  AMERICAN  COLLEGES, 

or  commerce,  is  proved  by  the  fact  that  it  is  hardly 
ever  able  to  maintain  itself  in  equal  competition 
with  individual  agency,  where  the  individuals  possess 
the  requisite  degree  of  industrial  enterprise,  and  can 
command  the  necessary  assemblage  of  means.  All 
the  facilities  which  a  government  enjoys  of  access  to 
information  ;  all  the  means  which  it  possesses  of  re- 
munerating, and  therefore  of  commanding,  the  best 
available  talent  in  the  market,  are  not  an  equivalent 
for  the  one  great  disadvantage  of  an  inferior  interest 
in  the  result."  ^  The  lack  of  interest  on  the  part  of 
the  Government  in  education  is  even  more  marked. 
The  history  of  the  relation  of  the  American  Govern- 
ment to  schools  and  colleges  does  not  warrant  the 
assumption  that  it  would  show  that  zeal  for  the 
prosperity  of  a  National  University  which  the  alumni 
of  scores  of  colleges  are  displaying  for  their  respect- 
ive alma  maters.  In  the,  higher  education  our  Gov- 
ernment, as  at  present  constituted,  cannot  feel  a 
deep  and  permanent  interest.  It  should  be  intrusted, 
as  it  is  now  intrusted,  to  the  people. 

The  best  universities  in  the  world,  the  German, 
possess  only  a  slight  connection  with  the  Govern- 
ment. Deficits  in  their  annual  accounts  are  met  by 
appropriations  from  the  State  Treasury.     But  the 

*  Ibid.,  §  5. 


A  NATIONAL  UNIVERSITY,  lyj 

relation,  in  other  respects  than  the  pecuniary,  has  at 
times  been  of  injury  to  the  universities.  The  Gov- 
ernment has  not  infrequently  attempted  to  coerce 
them.  The  Prussian  Government  has  often  stood 
in  direct  conflict  with  the  University  of  Berh'n.  The 
university,  however,  has  always  won  in  the  contest. 
But  this,  the  largest,  as  well  as  each  of  the  twenty 
universities,  has  gained  its  power  and  influence  rather 
without  than  with  the  help  of  the  Government. 
Governmental  interference,  whether  successful  or  not 
successful,  cannot  but  result  in  confusing  the  regular 
work  of  a  university.  It  remains  only  to  add  that 
the  relation  of  the  Government  of  Germany  to  its 
universities  furnishes,  therefore,  no  argument  for  the 
establishment  of  a  National  University  in  the  United 
States. 

12 


IjS  AMERICAN  COLLEGES. 


CHAPTER   XIII. 
woman's  education. 

That  women  should  receive  an  education,  that 
women  should  receive  as  broad  and  thorough  an 
education  as  is  possible,  are  propositions  that  no 
longer  require  discussion.  The  questions  which,  in 
the  present  state  of  public  opinion,  demand  consid- 
eration relate  to  the  peculiar  kind  of  intellectual 
training  which  women  should  receive  and  to  the 
conditions  under  which  this  training  should  be 
given. 

It  is  not  proposed  in  this  chapter  to  discuss  either 
the  general  theory  of  women's  education  or  to  pre- 
sent a  summary  of  the  facts  regarding  the  applica- 
tions of  any  theory.  The  purpose  is  to  offer  cer- 
tain considerations,  derived  chiefly  from  experience, 
relative  to  the  education  of  young  women,  that  tend 
to  prove  the  wisdom  of  that  method  usually  known 


WOMAN'S  EDUCATION, 


179 


as  co-education.  And  yet  it  is  to  be  premised  that 
co-education  is  not  an  end  sought  for  its  own  sake. 
The  ultimate  aim  is  to  give  young  women  ad- 
vantages for  intellectual  culture  as  liberal  as  are  af- 
forded to  young  men.  Since  the  large  proportion  of 
the  institutions  which  are  most  fully  equipped  for 
furnishing  these  advantages  are  now  monopolized 
by  the  students  of  one  sex,  and  since  it  is  not  pos- 
sible to  establish  institutions  as  fully  equipped  for 
the  use  of  young  women  alone,  it  is  urged  that  they 
should  be  received  into  institutions  already  existing. 
Co-education  is  simply  the  stairway  leading  to  the 
opportunity  for  the  noblest  and  highest  culture.  It 
should,  therefore,  be  open  to  those  who  wish  to 
use  it. 

It  is  still  further  to  be  premised  that  the  colleges 
for  women  of  recent  establishment,  as  Vassar, 
Smith,  Wellesley,  afford  excellent  opportunities  for 
intellectual  training.  The  courses  of  instruction 
which  they  provide  are  many  and  diverse.  Their 
professors  are  learned,  able,  and  not  a  few  are  also 
distinguished  for  scholarship  and  original  research. 
But  the  fact  that  they  are  so  thoroughly  equipped 
for  their  work  furnishes  no  conclusive  argu- 
ment against  opening  other  institutions,  even  more 
thoroughly  equipped,  to  women  as  well  as  to 
men. 


l8o  AMERICAN  COLLEGES, 

The  subject  of  co-education  has  now  gathered 
about  itself  a  large  amount  of  what  may  be  termed 
experience.  The  reasons  for  and  against  this  system 
of  training  are  no  longer  a  priori  only.  The  nearly 
fifty  years  in  which  this  system  has  been  practiced 
to  a  greater  or  less  extent  have  resulted  in  an  accu- 
mulation of  facts  that  are  of  great  value  in  deter- 
mining the  expediency  of  this  method  of  intel- 
lectual discipline.  Regarding  the  worth  of  this 
system  educators  hold  theories  the  most  diverse. 
These  theories  are,  of  course,  of  use,  in  cases  of  the 
most  abundant  use  ;  but  they  are  of  comparatively 
small  use  in  respect  to  those  points  of  inquiry  in 
which  actual  experience  has  proved  either  their  nar- 
rowness or  their  superficiality.  The  system  of  co- 
education was  introduced  into  the  University  of 
Michigan  after  a*  period  of  thirty  years,  in  which 
this  justly  famous  institution  had  devoted  itself  to 
the  training  of  young  men  exclusively.  Before 
reaching  the  decision  of  opening  its  doors  to  young 
women  it  sought  advice  from  the  most  distinguished 
educators.  Several  of  the  opinions  thus  evoked 
were  of  those  who  had  made  no  trial  of  co-educa- 
tion, and  these  opinions  were,  with  scarcely  an  ex- 
ception, antagonistic  to  the  movement.  Some  said 
it  would  be  "  demoralizing  "  ;  some  feared  it  would 
result  in  a  "  corruption  of  manners  and  morals  " ; 


WOMAN'S  ED  UCA  TION,  i  g  i       v 

some  argued  that  *'  the  delicacy  of  female  character 
would  be  destroyed  " ;  some  apprehended  serious 
weakening  of  the  health  of  female  students.  But 
the  doors  were  opened  ;  the  experiment  was 
tried.  For  more  than  a  decade  the  system  has 
been  pursued,  and  none  of  those  evils  that  were 
prophesied  has  accrued  as  the  result  of  co-educa- 
tion. 

A  reason  for  co-education  that  might  be  urged  in 
advance  of  any  trial  of  the  system,  and  yet  one 
which  practice  has  proved  to  be  valid,  is  its  economy 
of  means  and  forces.  Most  colleges  could  double  or 
treble  the  number  of  their  students  without  a  pro- 
portional increase  in  the  number  of  their  professors. 
A  professor  can  lecture  to  a  hundred  as  well  as  to  fifty 
students.  Libraries  and  laboratories,  once  estab- 
lished, can  be  used  by  a  larger  number  without  a 
correspondingly  larger  expense.  It  is  this  fact  of 
economy  to  which  President  Eliot  refers  when, 
in  expressing  his  opinion  that  young  men  and 
women  from  fifteen  to  twenty  years  of  age  are  not 
"  best  educated  in  intimate  association,"  he  yet  ac- 
knowledges that  this  "  method  may  nevertheless  be 
justifiable  in  a  community  which  cannot  afford  any- 
thing better." 

Not  seldom  it  is  asserted  that  colleges  educate 
their  students  away  from  and  above  the  life  which 


1 82  AMERICAN  COLLEGES. 

the  majority  will  be  obliged  to  follow.  Without 
assuming  the  truth  of  the  remark,  it  is  yet  clear  that 
there  is  less  peril  of  this  result  under  the  method  of 
co-education.  For  students  are  thus  kept  citizens 
of  a  collegiate  world  which  is  more  similar  to  the 
active  world  in  which,  after  graduation,  they  will 
live.  The  testimony  of  President  Fairchild,  of  Ober- 
lin  College,  upon  this  point,  as  upon  all  points 
regarding  co-education,  is  of  great  worth.  He 
writes : 

"  It  can  hardly  be  doubted  that  young  people 
educated  under  such  conditions  are  kept  in  harmony 
with  society  at  large,  and  are  prepared  to  appreciate 
the  responsibilities  of  life,  and  to  enter  upon  its  work. 
They  will  not  lack  sympathy  with  the  popular  feel- 
ing, or  an  apprehension  of  the  common  interests. 
They  are  naturally  educated  in  relation  with  the 
work  of  life,  and  will  not  require  a  readjustment. 
This  seems  a  matter  of  grave  importance,  and  we 
can  scarcely  be  mistaken  as  to  the  happy  results 
attained.  If  we  are  not  utterly  deceived  by  our 
position,  our  students  naturally  and  readily  find  their 
work  in  the  world,  because  they  have  been  trained 
in  sympathy  with  the  world."  * 

The  question  of  the  health  of  women  who  pursue 

*  Orton's  Liberal  Education  of  Women,  p.  245. 


WOMAN'S  EDUCATION. 


183 


a  course  of  study  on  the  same  terms  as  men,  is  of 
extreme  importance.  The  argument  of  Dr.  Edward 
H.  Clarke,  in  his  "  Sex  in  Education ;  or^  A  Fair 
Chance  for  the  Girls^'  would  tend  to  show  the  inex- 
pediency of  subjecting  women  to  that  method  of 
intellectual  training  which  men  pursue.  But  testi- 
monies collected  from  many  institutions  in  which 
the  method  has  had  a  long  and  fair  trial,  form 
the  strongest  evidence  for  a  contrary  conclu- 
sion. 

In  1882,  the  President  of  Oberlin  College  writes  as 
follows : 

*'  Our  impression  has  been,  from  a  general  obser- 
vation of  the  facts,  that  our  young  women  endure 
the  strain  of  a  course  of  study  as  well  as  the  young 
men ;  i.e.^  where  they  have  had  the  same  or  equal 
preparation.  In  the  case  of  young  women  who  come 
into  the  advanced  literary  and  philosophical  studies 
of  the  course,  without  the  full  discipline  of  previous 
classical  study,  there  are  indications  of  nervous 
anxiety  at  times,  which  is  undesirable  and  unwhole- 
some. Hitherto,  our  arrangement  of  courses  has 
brought  young  women  into  these  advanced  classes 
under  this  disadvantage.  They  have  held  their  place 
in  scholarship,  but  not  always  in  health.  My  per- 
sonal opinion  is  that  the  apprehension  of  failure  in 
the  class-room  takes  a  stronger  hold  upon  young 


1 84  AMERICAN  COLLEGES. 

women  than  young  men.  The  young  women  are  in 
general  very  sensitive  about  falHng  behind."  ^ 

President  Warren,  of  Boston  University,  says: 
"  As  regards  instances  of  the  physical  condition  of 
graduates  during  their  college  course,  I  have  known 
many  more  to  improve  than  I  have  to  deteriorate ; 
and  in  reply  to  your  question  whether  there  is  a 
marked  difference  noted  in  the  effect  of  study  upon 
the  minds  and  bodies  of  female  students,  I  reply, 
there  is  no  difference."  f 

President  Angell,  of  Michigan  University,  bears 
the  following  explicit  and  comprehensive  testimony : 
"Women  have  been  here  since  1870,  and  have  done 
every  kind  of  work  successfully  and  without  injury 
to  character  or  health."  :j: 

Professor  Lee,  of  St.  Lawrence  University,  New 
York,  writes  in  1882  : 

''  Our  college  has  been  in  operation  for  seventeen 
years.  The  proportion  of  male  and  female  students 
has  been  about  as  two  to  one,  that  is,  one-third  ladies. 

"  Their  mental  and  physical  condition  when  they 
entered  was  about  the  same  as  other  young  ladies 
of  the  same  age  and  social  position,  though  probably 
in  most  cases  a  little  better.     Their  health  had  gen- 


*  Education,  Vol.  III.,  No.  5,  p.  506. 
f   Ibid.,  p.  507.         \   Ibid.,  p.  509. 


IVOMAN'S  ED  UCA  TION.  \  85 

erally  been  good,  and  their  mental  training  not  very 
systematic  or  extensive.  On  entering  college  they 
are  put  down  to  hard  and  systematic  work,  and  kept 
so  all  through  the  four  years'  course. 

"  Their  health  has  generally  improved  during  their 
college  course.  There  have  been  exceptions,  but 
these  have  been  few.  Systematic  study  has  tended 
to  improve  their  health.  We  have  had  but  one 
death  among  the  lady  students  while  they  were  con- 
nected with  the  college,  and  very  little  sickness.  At 
the  close  of  their  college  course  they  have  appeared 
healthy  and  robust,  and  have  entered  upon  their 
work  of  teaching  or  other  occupations  requiring 
mental  exertion,  with  every  prospect  of  holding  out 
well ;  also,  as  to  scholarship  and  in  the  higher  branches 
— as  Latin,  Greek,  political  economy,  the  calculus, 
mental  and  moral  philosophy — have  ranked  as  high 
as  the  gentlemen,  and  in  some  cases  higher. 

"  I  cannot  say  that  there  is  any  great  difference  in 
the  effect  of  study  and  exercise  upon  the  male  and 
female  students.  Neither  seem  to  be  injured  at  all 
by  continuous  study.  Both  are  made  stronger  in 
body  and  mind.  I  may  also  add  that  the  mental 
occupations  upon  which  our  graduates  enter  after 
leaving  our  college  tend  to  increase  the  strength  and 
activity  of  body  and  mind  of  the  lady  students."  "^ 

*  Ibid.,  p.  508. 


1 86  AMERICAN  COLLEGES, 

President  Bascom,  of  the  University  of  Wisconsin, 
after  making  a  thorough  study  of  thfs  question, 
thus  writes  in  a  recent  report : 

"Though  my  conviction  has  been,  previous  to 
this  report,  that  the  health  of  the  young  women,  as 
a  whole,  was  better  than  that  of  the  young  men,  and 
that  there  were  striking  instances  of  graduation  with 
robust  strength,  I  am  striving  to  test  this  opinion  by 
facts,  so  far  with  the  following  results.  All  excuses 
for  ill-health  are  given  by  me.  The  exact  number 
of  students  in  our  collegiate  and  dependent  courses 
is  357.  Of  this  number  93  are  young  women — a 
trifle  more  than  one-quarter.  During  the  past  eight 
weeks,  the  most  trying  weeks  in  the  year  for  stu- 
dents, there  have  been  155  days  of  absence  from  ill- 
health  on  the  part  of  young  men,  and  18  on  the  part 
of  young  women.  The  young  women  should  have 
lost,  according  to  their  numbers,  54  days,  or  three 
times  as  many  as  they  have  actually  lost.  The  stu- 
dents were  not  aware  that  any  such  registration  was 
being  made.  It  may  be  felt  that  the  young  men 
are  less  conscientious  in  pleading  ill-health  than  the 
young  women,  and  this  is  doubtless  true ;  but  I 
sharply  question  a  young  man,  and  rarely  ask  any 
questions  of  a  young  woman.  I  explain  the  facts  in 
this  way.  The  young  men  are  not  accustomed  to 
confinement,  and  though  sun-browned  and  appar- 


WOMAN'S  ED  UCA  TION.  j  87 

ently  robust,  they  do  not  endure  the  violent  transi- 
tion as  well  as  women.  Study  is  more  congenial  to 
the  habits  of  young  women,  and  the  visiting  com- 
mittee are  certainly  mistaken  in  supposing  that  they 
have  to  work  harder  in  accomplishing  their  tasks. 
The  reverse  is  true.  In  addition  to  the  above  bill  of 
ill-health  against  the  young  men,  a  corresponding 
large  number  of  them  have  been  compelled,  from  the 
same  cause,  to  leave  the  University  altogether. 

"  A  second  showing  of  the  registration,  which  I 
had  not  contemplated,  but  one  very  interesting,  is 
this :  the  absences  of  the  young  women  are  almost 
exclusively  in  the  lower  classes.  Of  the  eighteen, 
two  are  in  the  Sub-Freshman,  fourteen  in  the  Fresh- 
man, one  in  the  Sophomore,  one  in  the  Junior,  and 
none  in  the  Senior.  The  absences  of  the  young  men 
are  evenly  distributed,  on  the  other  hand,  through 
the  entire  course.  The  young  women  do  not,  then," 
seem  to  deteriorate  with  us  in  health,  but  quite  the 
opposite.  I  do  not  belong  to  the  number  of  those 
who  set  lightly  by  health — I  would  not  sacrifice  any 
measure  of  it  for  scholarship  ;  but  it  has  long  seemed 
to  me  plain  that  a  young  woman  who  withdraws 
herself  from  society  and  gives  herself  judiciously  to 
a  college  course,  is  far  better  circumstanced  in  refer- 
ence to  health  than  the  great  majority  of  her  sex."  * 

*  Ibid.,  quoted,  pp.  509,  10. 


1 88  AMERICAN  COLLEGES, 

These  testimonies  might  be  multiplied,  but  suf- 
ficient have  been  adduced  to  prove  that  women 
entering  college  as  well  fitted  as  men,  pursuing  stud- 
ies under  conditions  as  favorable  to  the  preserva- 
tion of  health  as  those  under  which  men  are  placed, 
graduate  with  constitutions  as  vigorous  as  those 
of  the  men.  Indeed,  the  evidence  indicates  that 
the  physical  vigor  of  women  constantly  increases 
throughout  the  college  course. 

The  scholarship  of  the  women,  moreover,  is  excel- 
lent. They  maintain  at  least  as  high  a  rank  as  their 
brother  students.  The  fear  that  their  admission 
would  lower  the  scholastic  standards  has  proved  to 
be  utterly  without  foundation.  In  the  public  schools 
it  is  generally  acknowledged  that  girls  are  better 
scholars  than  boys.  The  same  relative  standing 
continues  in  the  college.  It  is,  however,  to  be  said 
that  the  natural  ability  of  the  young  women  is  prob- 
ably higher  than  that  of  the  young  men,  for  only 
the  women  of  superior  intellectual  natures  seek  a 
collegiate  training,  and  young  men  of  all  grades  of 
ability  go  or  are  driven  to  college.  In  reference  to 
this  question  of  scholarship.  President  White,  of 
Cornell  University,  wrote  at  a  time  when,  under  the 
proposal  of  opening  this  university  to  women,  he 
was  studying  the  system  of  co-education  in  other 
colleges : 


WOMAN'S  EDUCATION.  189 

"  If  it  be  said  that  the  presence  of  women  will 
tend  to  lower  the  standard  of  scholarship,  or  at  all 
events  to  keep  the  Faculty  from  steadily  raising  it, 
it  may  be  answered  at  once,  that  all  the  facts  ob- 
served are  in  opposition  to  this  view.  The  letters 
received  by  the  Committee,  and  their  own  recent 
observations  in  class-rooms,  show  beyond  a  doubt 
that  the  young  women  are  at  least  equals  of  the 
young  men  in  collegiate  studies.  As  already  stated, 
the  best  Greek  scholar  among  the  thirteen  hundred 
students  of  the  University  of  Michigan,  a  few  years 
since ;  the  best  mathematical  scholar  in  one  of  the 
largest  classes  of  that  institution  to-day,  and  several 
among  the  highest  in  natural  science,  and  in  the 
general  courses  of  study,  are  young  women. 

"  It  has  been  argued  that  the  want  of  accuracy 
and  point,  the  '  sloppiness  '  of  much  of  the  scholar- 
ship in  some  of  the  newer  colleges,  is  due  to  the 
admission  of  women.  The  facts  observed  by  the 
Committee  seem  to  prove  that  this  argument  is 
based  on  the  mistake  of  concomitancy  for  cause. 
If  'sloppiness*  and  want  of  point  are  inadmissible 
anywhere,  it  is  in  translation  from  the  more  vigorous 
and  concise  ancient  and  modern  authors.  Now,  the 
most  concise  and  vigorous  rendering  from  the  most 
concise  and  vigorous  of  all — Tacitus  himself — was 
given  by  a  young  lady  at  Oberlin  College.     Nor  did 


190  AMERICAN  COLLEGES. 

the  Committee  notice  any  better  work  in  the  most 
difficult  of  the  great  modern  languages  than  that  of 
some  young  women  at  Antioch  College."  "^ 

The  long  and  varied  experience  of  the  President 
of  Oberlin  College  is  in  the  line  of  President  White's 
observation.     Dr.  Fairchild  remarks  : 

"  We  find  no  difference  in  ability  to  maintain 
themselves  [women  students]  in  the  recitation-room. 
Under  the  circumstances,  I  shall  be  excused  for  re- 
ferring to  my  own  individual  experience,  which  has 
been  somewhat  varied.  The  first  eight  years  of  my 
work  as  a  teacher  was  in  the  department  of  the 
Ancient  Languages — Latin,  Greek,  and  Hebrew ; 
the  next  eleven  in  mathematics,  abstract  and  applied ; 
the  last  eight,  in  Philosophical  and  Ethical  studies. 
In  all  these  studies  my  classes  have  included  young 
women  as  well  as  young  men,  and  I  have  never  ob- 
served any  difference  between  them  in  performance 
in  the  recitation.  The  strong  and  the  weak  scholars 
are  equally  distributed  between  the  sexes. 

"  In  this  statement  I  do  not  imply  that  I  see  no 
difference  between  the  normal  male  and  female  mind 
as  to  taste  for  particular  studies.  I  have  no  doubt 
of  the  existence  of  such  differences ;  but  they^do  not 
appear  in  the  ability  as  pupils  to  comprehend  and 

*  Orton's  Liberal  Education  of  Women,  p.  223. 


WOMAN'S  ED  UCA  TION,  191 

express  the  truth.  A  few  days  since,  on  a  visit  to 
the  University  of  Michigan,  I  attended  a  recitation 
in  Thucydides.  So  far  as  could  be  judged  from  a 
single  exercise,  in  which  there  were  many  excellent 
performances,  the  daughter  of  the  Professor  of  Greek, 
the  only  young  lady  under  the  wing  of  the  Univer- 
sity, led  the  class.  But  it  did  not  strike  me  as  an 
anomaly  ;  I  had  often  seen  such  things."  * 

President  Edward  Orton,  of  Antioch,  bears  similar 
testimony  : 

"As  to  the  intellectual  result  of  co-education,  I 
have  seen  nothing  to  warrant  the  belief  that  the 
general  average  of  scholarship  is  lowered  by  it. 
Young  women,  as  we  find  them,  have  not  the  same 
powers  of  endurance,  in  severe  and  protracted  study, 
that  young  men  have ;  but,  on  the  other  hand,  they 
do  much  of  their  work  with  greater  facility.  In  the 
Languages,  in  Rhetoric  and  Belles-lettres,  for  in- 
stance, they  are  apter  pupils  than  their  brothers. 
Perhaps  we  do  not  find  them  as  strong  or  original 
mathematicians  as  young  men,  but  still  it  must  be 
said  that  if  the  two  most  successful  scholars  of  the 
last  seven  years,  with  us,  were  to  be  named  in  this 
department,  both  sexes  would  be  represented.  They 
recite  what  they  know  better,  on  the  average,  than 

*  Ibid.,  pp.  245,  6. 


192  AMERICAN  COLLEGES, 

young  men.  The  sexes  seem  to  take  different  results 
from  the  same  course.  The  philosophic  phases  of  a 
subject  always  seem  to  me  to  take  deeper  hold  of 
young  men.  They  have  *  Darwinism,'  for  instance, 
harder.  It  seems  to  me  that  a  more  symmetrical 
view  is  obtained  when  a  subject  has  been  brought 
under  both  points  of  vision."  * 

A  member  of  the  St.  Lawrence  University,  of 
New  York,  writes  in  reference  to  the  women  stu- 
dents, that  '*  their  average  proficiency  in  all  studies 
is  quite  as  high  as  that  of  the  young  men  ;  "  f  and 
President  Magoun,  of  Iowa  College,  has  Hkewise 
affirmed :  ''  It  has  not  been  found  that  young  ladies, 
equally  prepared,  were  at  all  behind  young  men  in 
the  more  difficult  college  studies — mathematics,  lan- 
guages, science,  or  philosophy."  :j: 

The  evidence  is,  therefore,  abundant  and  explicit 
that  the  scholarship  of  the  women  is  as  high  as  the 
scholarship  of  the  men  in -the  colleges  which  admit 
both  sexes. 

But  intellectual  training  is  of  small  worth  in  com- 
parison with  moral  culture.  What,  then,  are  the 
results  of  co-education  in  the  domain  of  personal 
character?      Have    immoralities    prevailed?       Has 

*  Ibid.,  pp.  270,  I.         f  Old  and Neiu,  Vol.  IV.,  p.  129. 
X  Ibid.,  p.  760. 


WOMAN'S  EDUCATION. 


193 


woman  become  mannish?  Has  the  peach  been  made 
to  lose  its  bloom  ?  Have  the  reserve,  the  delicacy, 
the  tenderness — qualities  that  are  the  special  adorn- 
ment of  womanhood — been  sacrificed  or  even  im- 
paired ?  The  testimony  is  unanimous  in  the  nega- 
tive. President  White,  in  the  paper  from  which 
an  extract  has  already  been  made,  writes : 

"  That  there  may  be  some  danger  to  certain  classes 
of  women  shallow  in  character  and  weak  in  mind  is 
not  unlikely,  but  of  all  women,  these  are  the  least 
likely  to  involve  themselves  in  the  labor  of  prepara- 
tion for  the  university  or  of  going  on  with  its  courses 
of  study.  As  to  the  good  effect  on  the  women  who 
have  actually  entered  the  colleges,  the  testimony  is 
ample.  The  Committee  in  its  visits  found  no  op- 
posing statement  either  from  college  officers,  stu- 
dents of  either  sex,  or  citizens  of  university  towns, 
and  all  their  observations  failed  to  detect  any  symp- 
toms of  any  loss  of  the  distinctive  womanly  qualities 
so  highly  prized.  Nor  have  they  found  that  those 
who  have  been  thus  educated  have  shown  any  lack 
of  these  qualities  in  after  life.  On  the  contrary,  it 
would  be  hard  to  find  a  body  of  women  combining 
these  qualities  more  nobly  than  the  matrons  of  this 
State  and  surrounding  States,  who  have  graduated 
at  the  Academies  and  Normal  Schools.  These  quali- 
ties they  have,  by  the  agreement  of  all  observers,  in 
13 


194  AMERICAN  COLLEGES. 

a  very  much  higher  degree  than  the  women  of  coun- 
tries where  a  semi-conventual  system  of  education  is 
adopted."  * 

Six  years  after  Cornell  University  was  opened  to 
women,  it  was  affirmed,  it  is  worthy  of  note,  by  one 
of  its  members,  that  "  the  whole  tone  of  the  Univer- 
sity has  greatly  improved."  f 

The  testimony  of  President  Fairchild  is  no  less 
explicit : 

"  You  would  know  whether  the  result  with  us  has 
been  a  large  accession  to  the  numbers  of  coarse, 
*  strong-minded  *  women,  in  the  offensive  sense  of 
the  word ;  and  I  say,  without  hesitation,  that  I  do 
not  know  of  a  single  instance  of  such  a  product  as 
the  result  of  our  system  of  education.     -^     *     * 

"  To  show  that  our  system  of  education  does  not 
bewilder  woman  with  a  vain  ambition,  or  tend  to 
turn  her  aside  from  the  work  which  God  has  im- 
pressed upon  her  entire  constitution,  I  may  state 
that  of  the  eighty-four  ladies  that  have  taken  the 
college  course,  twenty-seven  only  are  unmarried. 
Of  these  twenty-seven,  four  died  early,  and  of  the 
remaining  twenty-three,  twenty  are  graduates  of  less 
than  six  years'  standing.     The  statistics  of  the  grad- 

*  Orton's  Liberal  Education  of  Women,  pp.  219,  20. 
\  Report  of  the  Mass.  Society  for  the  University  Education  of 
Women,  18S0,  p.  18. 


WOMAN'S  ED  UCA  TION.  195 

uates  of  the  Ladies*  Course  would  give  essentially 
the  same  result."  "^ 

Similar  sentiments  have  been  expressed  by  Horace 
Mann  and  Mrs.  Mann  regarding  the  college  of  which 
he  was  the  first  president.  President  Canfield,  of 
the  University  of  Kansas,  writes  that  there  have 
passed  "  sixteen  years  of  radical  co-education  with- 
out even  a  whisper  of  scandal."  f 

The  President  of  Butler  University,  Indiana,  says : 
"  Let  me  assure  you  that  a  better  set  of  students 
than  ours  it  would  be  difficult  to  find.  On  no  occa- 
sion whatever  has  discipline  been  made  necessary  by 
the  association  of  the  sexes.  Our  students  are  gentle 
and  modest  on  the  one  hand,  polite  and  gallant  on 
the  other ;  while  on  both  they  are  attentive,  indus- 
trious, and  obedient. '  % 

Many  testimonies  of  a  general  character  in  favor 
of  the  system  of  co-education  might  be  presented. 
They  refer,  in  fact,  to  points  already  discussed. 
The  President  of  the  University  of  Michigan  says  : 
"  Women  graduates  are  doing  their  full  part  in  win- 
ning a  reputation  for  Michigan  University,  and  are 


*  Orton's  Liberal  Education  of  Women,  pp.  249,  50. 
f   The  Nation.     No.  932,  p.  401. 

X  Report  of  the  Mass.  Society  for  the  University  Education  of 
Women,  1880,  p.  20. 


196  AMERICAN  COLLEGES. 

justifying  the  wisdom  of  the  Regents  who  opened 
to  them  the  opportunities  for  a  thorough  classical 
training."  "^ 

The  President  of  the  University  of  Wisconsin  also 
writes : 

"After  an  experience  of  ten  years  in  large  college- 
classes,  I  am  more  than  convinced  of  the  suitable- 
ness of  co-education  ;  I  believe  it  to  be  pre-eminently 
the  fitting  method  of  training  our  youth.  I  can 
only  briefly  indicate  my  reasons. 

"  The  fears  so  often  expressed  in  reference  to  its 
effects  on  manners,  on  health,  on  the  standard  of 
scholarship,*  on  the  type  of  female  character,  have 
not  been  found  by  me  to  be  true,  but  quite  the  re- 
verse of  the  truth.  On  the  other  hand,  this  method 
gives  a  vigor,  insight,  and  scope  to  higher  education 
not  attainable  under  the  narrower  conditions  of  sex- 
ual division.  It  is  impossible  to  secure  breadth  with- 
out breadth. 

"  Both  men  and  women  should  encounter  the 
conditions  of  life  in  regular  sequence  as  they  arise. 
A  period  of  seclusion  is  no  preparation  for  new, 
closer,  and  more  responsible  contact.  It  is  very  piti- 
ful that  some  doctrinaire  should  have  the  power  to 

*  Report  of  the  Mass.  Society  for  the  University  Education  of 
Women,  1880,  p.  18. 


WOMAN'S  EDUCATION. 


197 


prepare  for  women  a  private  regimen  that  excludes 
a  portion  of  the  most  weighty  conditions  and  in- 
fluences of  that  life  which  we  have  actually  to  en- 
counter. 

"While  much  maybe  said  in  behalf  of  one, two,  or 
three  colleges  recently  provided  for  women,  most  of 
the  instruction  furnished  for  them  is,  and  will  re- 
main, greatly  inferior  to  that  offered  to  young  men. 
Even  the  best  of  this  instruction  is  inferior  in  the 
scope  of  its  influence  to  that  furnished  in  our  older 
institutions,  which  have  behind  them  the  gathered 
force  of  our  national  life.  It  is  uneconomical  in 
theory,  and  impossible  in  practice,  to  provide  a  sec- 
ond series  of  colleges  equal  in  extension  and  educa- 
tional force  to  those  already  in  existence. 

"  Seclusion  in  the  education  of  women  means  weak- 
ness, and  weakness  means  continued  subjection  to  a 
faulty  conventional  sentiment ;  seclusion  means  in- 
feriority, and  this  inferiority  is  not  to  be  measured 
by  the  distance  between  the  best  institutions  open 
respectively  to  young  men  and  young  women,  but 
by  the  distance  from  centre  to  centre,  the  difference 
of  the  average  work  in  the  two  directions."  "* 

The  President  of  Boston  University  affirms  the 
satisfactory  character  of  the  results  of  co-education  in 

*  The  Critic,     No.  66,  pp.  154,  55. 


198  AMERICAN  COLLEGES, 

the  institution  which  he  serves.  When  the  present 
President  of  Columbia  College  was  the  chief  execu- 
tive ofificer  of  the  University  of  Alabama,  at  Tusca- 
loosa, it  was  his  custom  to  invite  the  attendance  on 
his  lectures  of  young  women  from  a  neighboring 
female  seminary.  The  effect  of  this  association  upon 
the  manners  of  the  young  men  was  most  advan- 
tageous; and  the  results  were  so  satisfactory  that 
the  example  was  followed  by  other  officers  of  the 
University. 

The  results  of  the  system  generally  known  as  the 
"  Harvard  Annex,"  so  far  as  they  have  any  bearing 
upon  this  question,  are  in  favor  of  co-education. 
This  system  is  simply,  that  the  professors  of  the 
University  are  teaching  private  classes  of  young 
women  in  the  college  studies.  In  speaking  of  this 
system.  Professor  A.  P.  Peabody  has  said : 

"  I  can  see  no  reason  why  young  men  and  young 
women  may  not  study  and  recite  together  as  well  as 
talk,  sing,  and  dance  together.  The  reason  usually 
given  why  they  should  not  is  purely  a  relic  of  some 
tradition,  the  reason  for  which  has  been  entirely  lost 
to  the  memory  of  man.  When  we  think  that  they 
are  to  be  together  in  the  building,  the  most  inno- 
cent and  fitting  of  all  associations  would  seem  to  be 
an  association  in  the  very  highest  pursuits,  next  to 
their  eternal  well-being,  in  which  they  can  be  en- 


IVO^^AN'S  ED  UCA  TION.  199 

gaged.  There  is  no  reason  why  association  in  this 
matter  should  be  postponed." 

Although  Columbia  College,  despite  the  recom- 
mendations of  its  president,  refuses  to  admit  women 
to  its  classes,  it  has  yet  provided  an  arrangement 
which  offers  even  more  advantages  than  the  ''Har- 
vard Annex."  The  officers  of  the  college  examine 
women  for  entrance  to  a  four-year  course  of  study, 
prescribe  this  course,  which  for  the  first  two  years  is 
obligatory,  and  for  the  second  two  elective,  examine 
students,  and  at  the  close  grant  a  certificate,  which 
stands  in  the  place  of  a  degree.  This  system  is  in- 
augurated in  the  college  year  of  1883-84.  Neither 
its  precise  details  nor,  much  less,  its  results  are  at 
present  known.  But  the  fact  indicates  at  least  prog- 
ress in  the  provision  for  the  higher  education  of 
women,  and  in  the  views  of  many  it  shows  an  ad- 
vance toward  the  introducton  of  co-education  into 
this  most  conservative  institution. 

The  scope  of  this  work  fails  to  permit  extended 
reference  to  the  education  of  European  women. 
England  has  four  universities  of  ancient  establish- 
ment :  Oxford,  Cambridge,  London,  and  Durham. 
Professors  at  Oxford  have  admitted  women  to  their 
lectures,  and  Somerville  College  and  Lady  Margaret 
Hall  have  recently  been  opened  for  the  special  use 
of  female  students.     Cambridge  admits  women  to 


200  AMERICAN  COLLEGES, 

its  Honor  examinations,  and  its  professors  instruct 
the  students  of  Girton  College  and  Newnham  Hall. 
London  University  admits  women  to  degrees  and  to 
honors  on  the  same  terms  as  men ;  and  Durham 
University  grants  to  them  degrees  in  arts. 

From  the  seventh  to  the  fifteenth  century,* Eng- 
lish women  received  precisely  the  same  education  as 
English  men.  It  was  not  till  the  convent  schools 
were  swept  away  in  the  sixteenth  century  that  they 
were  denied  those  educational  facilities  which  the 
last  quarter  of  the  nineteenth  century  is  restoring. 


APPENDIX. 


The  statistics  contained  in  the  following  Tables  have  been  in  the 
main  obtained  from  the  returns  made  to  the  U.  S.  Commissioner  of 
Education  for  the  year  iSSo-Si.  PVom  the  five  or  six  hundred  insti- 
tutions bearing  the  name  of  college,  the  difficulty  in  selecting  those 
whose  merits  entitle  them  to  be  so  ranked  has  been  very  great,  and  it 
cannot  be  hoped  that  perfect  justice  has  been  done.  Mr.  Eaton's  ar- 
rangement has  been  in  general  followed.  Those  institutions,  how- 
ever, returning  no  students  in  the  collegiate  departments  have  been 
omitted.  The  list  as  it  now  stands  embraces  312  colleges,  four-fifths 
of  which  have  connected  with  them  preparatory  departments.  Of 
this  number  171  admit  both  sexeson  equal  terms,  133  admit  3nly  men, 
and  5  women  only.  The  whole  number  of  students  is  29,101,  one- 
sixth  of  whom,  as  nearly  as  can  be  estimated,  are  women. 

As  regards  States,  they  are'  distributed  as  follows  : — 


States. 

4 

Students. 

States. 

4 

Students. 

Alabama 

3 
4 
9 

2 
3 
4 

6 

It 
'I 

14 

4 

1 

I 

3 

306 
216 
723 
55 
951 
154 

sS 
1702 
1228 
104s 

217 

1 120 

73 

2344 

1071 

170 

Mississippi 

4 
13 
2 

I 
4 
24 

J 

4 
27 

I 

6 
18 
6 

3 
9 

284 
1799 
105 

California 

1  Nebraska                .... 

Colorado                 .  . 

:New  Hampshire 

District  Columbia 

Delaware  

iNew  York 

1  North  Carolina 

lOhio  

2827 
823 

«524 
319 

2370 
247 
372 

Illinois. 

Pennsylvania 

Rhode  Island    

South  Carolina 

Tennessee 

Iowa      

Kentucky 

Louisiana  

Texas 

Maine 

652 

Maryland 

Virginia 

Massachusetts 

W.  Virginia 

Wisconsin 

Minnesota 

Total 

312 

29101 



201 


202 


APPENDIX. 


Sixteen  religious  denominations  are  represented  in  their  manage- 
ment, among  which  they  are  divided  as  follows  : 


Religious  Denomi- 
nations. 


Non-Sectarian 

Methodist 

Baptist 

Roman  Catholic 

Presbyterian 

Congregationalist. . 


No. 


Religious  Denomi- 
nations. 


Lutheran 

Christian 

Episcopal 

United  Brethren 

Reformed 

Friends 


No. 


Religious  Denomi- 
nations.   ♦ 


Universalist 

S.  D.  Advent 

Evangelical 

Reformed  German 
New  Church 


No. 


Of  the  colleges  now  in  existence,  two  date  their  foundation  to  the 
seventeenth  century,  and  twenty-two  to  the  eighteenth.  The  remain- 
ing two  hundred  and  eighty-eight  have  been  founded  since  the  year 
1800.  The  subjoined  table  gives  the  number  of  charters  granted  in 
each  decade  of  the  present  century. 


180I-I8IO 

1811-1820 

1821-1830 

I 831-1840 

1841-1850 

1851-1860 

1861-1870 

1871-1877 

3 

7 

12 

25 

3T 

71 

75 

39 

Name. 

Location 

Religious 
Denomina- 
tions. 

^1 

C/5 

Greensboro,  Ala. . 
Marion,  Ala.     ... 
Tuscaloosa,  Ala.. 
Batesville,  Ark... 
Boonsboro,  Ark. . 

Judsonia,  Ark 

Little  Rock,  Ark. 

Benicia,  Cal 

1856 

'^& 

1872 
1852 
1871 
1850 

1868 

M.  E.  So. 

Baptist. 

Non-Sect. 

Presb. 

Cumb.  P. 

Baptist. 

Non-Sect. 

RE. 

4 
5 

12 
3 

i 

8 

5 

62 
104 
140 

50 

Howard  College      

♦University  of  Alabama  . . . 

1200 
5000 
500 
200 

460 

200 

2500 

*Cane  Hiil  College 

*Judson  University 

*St  John's  Col.  of  Arkansas. 
tMissionary  College  of  St. 
Augustine 

*  Admits  both  sexes. 


t  Admits  men  only. 


%  Admits  women  only. 


APPENDIX. 


203 


oji 

Religious 

^el^^l 

Name. 

Location. 

^S 

Denomina- 

iNo. 
each 
No. 
ude 

06 

tions. 

0^ 

H 

en 

>.s 

♦Pierce  Christian  Colleg^e... 

Co.lege  City.  Cal. 

1874 

Christian. 

6 

77 

♦University  of  California... 

Oakliid,  Cal 

i868 

Non-Sect. 

Z^ 

145 

15750 

+St.  Mary's  College 

San     Francisco, 

Cal 

1872 

R.  C. 

20 

120 

1500 

+Santa  Clara  College 

♦University  of  the  Pacific. 

Santa  Clara,  Cal . 

iBss 

R.  C. 

10 

2SO 

ICXXX3 

Santa  Clara,  Cal. 

i8s3 

M.  E. 

13 

7'> 

♦Pacific  Methodist  College. . 

Santa  Rosa,  Cal,. 

1862 

M.  E.  So. 

,S 

7.3 

200 

♦California  College 

Vaccaville,  Cal... 

1870 

Baptist. 

6 

.W 

2500 

♦Hesperian  College 

Woodland,  Cal... 

1862 

Christian. 

6 

09 

375 

♦Colorado  College 

Colorado  Springs, 
Colo.....*. 

iSyi 

Non-Sect. 

8 

39 

1000 

University  of  Colorado 

Boulder,  Colo.... 

iRts 

Non  Sect. 

I 

16 

,823 

i8^i 

P.  E 

18275 
31370 

♦Wesleyan  University 

tYale  College 

Middleto^n,  Conn. 

M.  E. 

It) 

l6:» 

N.  Haven,  Conn.. 
Newark,  Del.... 

1701 

Non-Sect. 

41 

687 

08000 

♦Delaware  College 

t86o 

Non-Sect. 

S 

59 

6500 

♦University  of  Georgia  .... 
♦Atlanta  University 

Athens,  Ga 

178s 

Non-Sect. 

Q 

8:t 

16000 

Atlanta,  Ga 

1867 

Non-Sect. 

12 

26 

5000 

♦Gainesville  Male  and   Fe- 

male  College             .   .   . 

Gainesville,  Ga  . 

1877 
18^7 

Non-Sect. 

7 
6 

s 

6000 

tMercer  University 

Macon,  Ga 

Baptist. 

■fPio  Nono  College 

Macon,  Ga 

,876 
i8t,6 

R.  t. 

A. 

4.5 
141 

IIOO 

tEmory  College 

♦Hedding  College 

Oxford,  Ga 

Meth. 

8 

3000 

Abingdon,  111 

1853 

M.  E. 

q 

60 

1000 

♦Illinois  Wesleyan  Univer- 

sity  

Bloomington,  111. 
Carlinville,  111.... 

Carthage,  111 

Chicago,  111 

1850 

Meth. 

8 

84 

2000 

♦Blackburn  University 

i8s7 

Presb. 

7 

6j 

3000 

♦Carthage  College 

tSt.  Ignatius  College 

1870 

Luth. 

6 

83 

2500 

1870 

R.C. 

7 

.38 

12000 

♦University  of  Chicago 

Chicago,  111 

i8s7 

Baptist. 

II 

74 

6000 

♦Northwestern  University.. 

Evanston,  111 

i8si 

M.  E. 

10 

18.3 

20000 

♦Ewing  College      

Ewing,  111 

Galesburg,  111.... 
Galesburg,  III  . . . 

1874 
1837 
i8sq 

Non-Sect. 
Non-Sect. 
Univer'list. 

6 

I 

32 
loS 
22 

25 

♦Knox  College 

♦Lombard  University 

3850 

♦Irvington  College 

Irvington,  111   ... 
Jacksonville,  111.. 
Lake  Forest,  111. 
LeDanon,  III 

7863 

Presb-Cong 

6 

41 

tlllinois  College 

1835 

Non-Sect. 
Presb. 

9 

0 

78 
7.'> 

8000 

♦Lake  Forest  University. . 

4500 

♦McKendree  College 

1814 

M.  E. 

8 

128 

6000 

♦Lmcoln  University 

Lincoln,  111 

i86s 

Cumb.  P. 

II 

199 

16000 

tEvangelisch-Lutherisches 

Collegium 

Mendota,  111 

187s 

Luth. 

6 

26 

300 

♦Monmouth  College 

Monmouth,  111.... 

i8s7 

U.  Presb. 

8 

IS2 

2000 

♦Northwestern  College 

Naperville.in   ... 

i86s 

Evang. 

6 

73 

+Augustana  College 

Rock  Island,  III.. 

186s 

Luth. 

6 

63 

6460 

tSt.  Joseph's  College 

Teutopolis,  111. 

R.C. 

6 

28 

♦Shurtlefj  College        

Upper  Alton,  III. 

1835 

Baptist. 

5 

48 

5437 

♦  Admits  both  sexes. 


t  Admits  men  only. 


X  Admits  women  only. 


204 


APPENDIX. 


Name. 


♦Westfield  College 

*Wheaton  College 

♦Bedford  College 

♦Indiana  University 

t Wabash  College 

*Fort  Wayne  College 

♦Franklin  College 

♦Indiana  Asbury  University 

tHanover  College 

♦Harts ville  University 

♦Butler  University 

♦Smithson  College 

♦Union  Christian  College  . . 

♦Moore's  Hill  College 

tUniversity  of  Notre  Dame 

Du  Lac 

♦Earlham  College  

♦Ridgeville  College  

1-St.  Meinrad's  College 

♦Amity  College 

tNorwegian  Luther  College 
♦University  of  Des  Moines. 

♦Parson's  College 

♦Upper  Iowa  University. . . 

♦Iowa  College 

tGriswold  College 

♦Simpson   Centenary    Col- 
lege   

♦Iowa  State  University 

♦German  College 

♦Iowa  Wesleyan  University 

♦Cornell  College 

♦Oskaloosa  College 

♦Penn  Colleg-e 

♦Central  University  of  Iowa 

♦Tabor  College 

♦Western  College 

tSt,  Benedict's  College 

♦Baker  University 

♦Highland  University 

♦University  of  Kansas 

♦Lane  University 


Location. 


Westfield,  111 

Wheaton,  111 

Bedford,  Ind 

Bloomington,  Ind 
Cra  wf  ordsviUe, 

Ind 

Fort  Wayne,  Ind. 
Franklin,  Ind  . . . 
Greencastle,  Ind. 
Hanover,  Ind  . . 
Hartsville,  Ind . . 
Irvington,  Ind... 
Logansport,  Ind. 

Merom,  Ind 

Moore's  Hill,  Ind 

Notre  Dame,  Ind. 
Richmond,  Ind.. . 
Ridgeville,  Ind  .. 
St.  Meinrad,  Ind. 
College    Springs, 

Iowa 

Decorah,  Iowa. .. 
Des  Moines,  Iowa 
Fairfield,  Iowa. . . 
Fayette,  Iowa  .. . 
Gnnnell,  Iowa. . . 
Davenport,  Iowa. 

Indianola,  Iowa . . 
Iowa  City,  Iowa.. 
Mt. Pleasant, Iowa 
Mt. Pleasant, Iowa 
Mt.  Vernon,  Iowa 
Oskaloosa,  Iowa 
Oskaloosa,  Iowa. 

Pella,  Iowa 

Tabor,  Iowa 

Western  College, 

Iowa 

Atchison,  Kans.. 
Baldwin    City, 

Kans. . 

Highland,  Kans  . 
Lawrence,  Kans.. 
Lecompton,  Kans 


Religious 
Denomina- 
tion.* 


1865  U.  Breth. 
i860 1  Cong. 
1872  Christian. 
1828!  Non-Sect. 


833!Presb. 
M.  E. 
Baptist. 
M.  E. 
Presb. 
U.  Breth. 
Christian. 
Univers'list 
Christian. 
M.  E. 


1844 
1837 
'833 
1851 
1850 
1871 
1859 
1854 


1844 

1859 
1867 


'853 


1866 
1875 
1857 
1847 


1867 
'857 
1873 
1855 

r857 
1856 
1866 

•853 
1866 

1856 
1868 

1857 
1858 
1864 
1862 


R.  C. 
Friends. 
F.  W.  B. 
R.  C. 

Non-Sect. 
Ev.  Luth. 
Baptist. 
Presb. 
M.  E. 
Cong. 


M.  E. 

Non-Sect. 

M.  E. 

Meth. 

M.  E. 

Christian. 

Friends. 

Baptist. 

Cong. 

U.  Breth. 
R.  C. 

M.  E. 
Presb. 
Non-Sect. 
U.  Breth. 


■oi 

"o  c 

^l 

gl 

H 

33 

5 

14 

.52 

.S 

63 

10 

i»3 

IT 

96 

8 

17 

6 

36 

12 

212 

9 

59 

4 

31 

12 

73 

6 

1,5 

8 

40 

6 

48 

7 

200 

6 

41 

,•> 

44 

9 

65 

i 

12 

88 

4 

1.3 

6 

57 

4 

47 

16 

82 

7 

13 

8 

53 

17 

218 

3 

23 

II 

99 

9 

91 

7 

26 

5 

34 

7 

40 

8 

72 

5 

41 

7 

25 

4 

19 

■^ 

12 

16 

114 

2 

18 

♦  Admits  both  sexes. 


t  Admits  men  only. 


X  Admits  women  only. 


APPENDIX, 


205 


Name. 


Location. 


fit 


Religious 
Denomina- 
tion 


52 

^21 

oboe 

0  0  d-o 

:z;3^a 

H 

(« 

7 

23 

17 

«4 

4 

34 

10 

6 

6 

q6 

10 

«3 

7 

91 

5 

97 

3 

66 

4 

79 

7 

185 

4 

97 

S 

40 

7 

105 

ID 

57 

13 

3 

IS 

4 

35 

4 

23 

15 

149 

I 

133 
149 

9 

64 

33 

159 

14 

70 

3 

40 

10 

45 

13 

"5 

1 

51 

10 

78 

25 

3?9 

14 

186 

18 

107 

56 

886 

26 

202 

12 

63 

40 

243 

12 

227 

>  G 


♦Washburn  College.. 
tSt.  Joseph's  College. 

♦Berea  College 

tCecilian  College  .... 


tCentre  College 

♦Eminence  College 

tKentucky  Military  Ins'tute 

iGeorgetown  College 

Kentucky  University 

Kentucky  Wesleyan  Uni- 
versity   

♦Murray  Male  and  Female 
Institute ] 

♦Concord  College 

tCentral  University 

tBethel  College... 1 

tSt.  Mary's  College  | 

♦Louisiana  State  University 

tSt,  Charles  College. .       . 

tCentenary  College  of  Lou 
isiana  

♦New  Orleans  University  . 

tBowdoin  College 

♦Bates  College 

♦Colby  University 


Top)eka,  Kans 

Bardstown,  Ky  . . 

Berea,  Kv 

Cecilian  J  unction, 

Ky 

Danville,  Ky 

Eminence,  Ky  . . . 

Fanndale,  Ky 

Georgetown.  Ky. 
Lexington,  Ky... 

Millersburg,  Ky.. 


1865  Cong. 
I824JR.  C. 
1865!  Cong. 

1867  R.  C. 
1819'Presb. 
1856  Christian. 


846 
829 
1858 

i860 


+St.  John's  College ... 

tjohns  Hopkins  University 

tLoyola  College 

tWashington  College 

+Rock  Hill  College 

tSt.  Charles  College 


tFrederick  College ... 

♦Western  Maryland  College 

tAmherst  College 

tBoston  College 

♦Boston  University  College 

of  Liberal  Arts 

tHarvard  College 

$Smith  College .. 


tTufts  College 

tWellesley  College. 
tWilliams  College. . 


Murray,  Ky 

New  Liberty,  Ky, 
Richmond,  Ky. .. 
Russellville,  Ky.. 
St.  Mary's,  Ky. . 
Baton  Rouge,  La. 
Grand  Coleau,  La 


Jackson,  La 

New  Orleans,  La. 
Brunswick,  Me. . . 

Lewiston.Me 

Waterville,  Me... 
Annapolis,  Md.. . 

Baltimore,  Md 

Baltimore,  Md..  . 
Chestertown,  Md. 
Ellicott  City,  Md. 
NearEllicott  City, 

Md 

Frederick,  Md... 
Westminster,Md. . 
Amherst,  Mass. .. 
Boston,  Mass.... 


Non-Sect. 
Baptist. 


M.  E.  So. 


Boston,  Mass 

Cambridge,  Mass. 
Northampton, 

Mass 

CollegeHill,Mass. 
Wellesley,  Mass.. 
Will  iamstown. 

Mass  


1870  Non-Sect. 
i868|Baptist. 
i873|Presb.  S. 
1856  Baptist. 
T837  R.  C. 
1853  Non-Sect. 
1852  R.  C. 


1825 
1873 
1794 
1863 
1820 
17S4 
1867 
1853 
1782 
1865 

1830 
1763 
1868 
1825 
1863 

1869 
1636 

1870 
1852 
1875 


M.  E.  So. 
M.  E. 
Cong. 
F.  W.  B. 
Baptist. 
Non-Sect. 
Non-Sect. 
R.  C. 
Non-Sect. 
R.  C. 

R.  C 

Non-Sect. 
M.  Prot. 

M.  E. 
Non-Sect. 

Non-Sect. 

Univers'list 

Non-Sect. 


1793  Cong. 


4000 

3200 

500 
4376 
1600 
5000 
8000 


200 
1500 
loco 
1000 
12000 
5C00 


500 

20000 

16000 
5000 
9000 

IIOOO 

1350 
5000 

5300 

3000 

3000 

36025 


187300 


i8coo 
220C0 


*  Admits  both  sexes. 


t  Admits  men  only. 


%  Admits  women  only. 


206 


APPENDIX. 


Name. 


Location. 


•u 


Religrious 
Denomina- 
tion. 


..2 

^i2 

O  (U 

0  c 

•  .c 

,°  M 

o-o 

>5^.i 

^R 

H 

(/) 

19 

91 

11 

61 

II 

140 

33 

521 

14 

IS 

19 

96 

6 

45 

5 

44 

15 

149 

6 

48 

17 

isq 

II 

63 

7 

75 

5 

20 

8 

184 

6 

5 

10 

82 

36 

55S 

5 

8q 

6 

100 

2 

37 

6 

12 

5 

129 

4 

40 

38 

250 

21 

173 

20 

75 

13 

185 

6 

70 

5 

^5 

10 

90 

15 

247 

5 

49 

IS 

lOT 

25 

428 

14 

no 

16 

71 

10 

91 

+College  of  the  Holy  Cross. 

*Adrian  College 

♦Albion  College 

*University  of  Michigan. . . 
♦Battle  Creek  College 

♦Hillsdale  College 

1-Hope  College 

♦Kalamazoo  College 

♦Olivet  College 

+Augsburg  Seminary, Greek 

Department 

♦University  of  Minnesota.. 

♦Carleton  College 

tMississippi  College 

♦Shaw  University 

♦University  of  Mississippi.. 

♦Alcorn  University 

♦Christian  University 

♦University  of  the  State  of 
Missouri 

♦Central  College 

Westminster  College 

♦Lincoln  College 

♦Thayer.  College 

tWilham  Jewell  College. .. 

♦Baptist  College  

^Christian  Brothers'  Col- 
lege   

+St.  Louis  University 

♦Washington  University. .. 

♦Drury  College. 

♦Central'  Wesleyan  College. 

♦Doane  College     . .  , 

♦University  of  Nebraska. . . 

tDartmouth  College 

1St.  Benedict's  College  ... 

tRutger's  College 

+ College  of  New  Jersey 

•fSeton  Hall  College 

♦Alfred  University 

+St.  Bonaventure's  College. 

*  Admits  both  sexes. 


Worcester,  Mass. 

Adrian,  Mich 

Albion,  Mich 

Ann  Arbor,  Mich. 
Battle  Creek, 

Mich 

Hillsdale,  Mich.. 
Holland    City, 

Mich 

Kal  amazoo ,  M  ich . 

Olivet,  Mich 

Minneapolis, 

Minn 

Minneapolis, 

Minn. 

Northfield,  Minn. 

Clinton,  Miss 

Holly  Springs, 

Miss 

Oxford,  Miss 

Rodney,  Miss 

Canton,  Mo 

Columbia.  Mo.... 

Fayette,  Mo 

Fulton,  Mo 

Greenwood,  Mo.. 

Kidder,  Mo 

Liberty,  Mo 

Louisiana,  Mo... 

St.  Louis,  Mo 

St.  Louis,  Mo 

St.  Louis,  Mo 

Springfield,  Mo.. 
W^arrenton,  Mo. . . 

Crete,  Nebr 

Lincoln,  Nebr 

Hanover,  N  H... 

Newark.  N.  J 

New    Brunswick, 

N.J 

Princeton,  N.  J... 
S.  Orange,  N.  J.. 

Alfred,  N.Y 

Alleghany,  N.Y.. 


865  R.  C. 
8591 M.  Prot. 
86ijM.  E. 
836  Non-Sect. 

874  S.  D.  Ad. 
855  F.  W.  B. 


Ref.  Dutch. 
Baptist. 
Co.  and  Pr, 

Ev.  Luth. 


Non-Sect. 
866  j  Cong. 
850^  Baptist. 

87olMeth. 
844  j  Non-Sect. 
871  Non-Sect. 
853  Christian. 

:839  Non-Sect. 
[855  M.  E.  So. 
;853  Pres.  So. 
[870  Un.  Pres. 
.863!  Cong. 
[840' Baptist. 
:869  Baptist. 

:855  R-  C. 
1832  R.  C. 
[853' Non-Sect. 
'873;  Cong. 
[865;  M.  E. 
[872  Cong. 
[871 1  Non-Sect. 
[769I  Non-Sect. 
R.  C. 

[770' Reformed. 

46Presb. 
.061 1 R.  C. 
857; S.  D.  Bap. 
1875  R.  C. 


t  Admits  men  only.  %  Admits  women  only. 


APPENDIX, 


207 


Name. 


+St.  Stephen's  Collepfc  . . . ;. 

itWells  College 

tBrooklyn  Collegiate  and 
Polytechnic  Institute 

+St.  Francis  College 

tCanisms  College 

iSt.  Joseph's  College 

*St.  Lawrence  University.. 

tElmira  Female  College  . . . 

tHamilton  College 

+St.  John's  College . . 

tHobart  College  

tMadison  University 

♦Cornell  University  

tCollege  of  the  City  of  N  Y. 

tCoUege  of  St.  Francis 
Xavier 

tColumbia  College 

tManhattan  College 

tUniversity  of  the  City  of 
New  York 

JVassar  College 

tUniversity  oif  Rochester. . . 

tUnion  College 

*Syracuse  University 

tUniversity  of  North  Caro- 
lina,   

♦Davidson  College 

tNorth  Carolina  College. . . 

tTrinity  College 

tWake  Forest  College 

tRutherford  College 

♦Wilson  College 

*Ohio  University 

♦Baldwin  University 

♦German  Wallace  College.. 

tSt  Xavier  College 

♦University  of  Cincinnati. . 
♦Farmers'  College  of  Ham- 
ilton County. 

♦Ohio  Wcsleyan  University 

tKenyon  College 

tDenison  University 

♦Hiram  College 


Location. 


Annandale,  N.  Y. 
Aurora,  N.  Y 

Brooklyn,  N.  Y. . 
Brooklyn,  N.  Y.. 

Buffalo.  N.Y 

Buffalo,  N.Y 

Canton,  N.Y 

Elmira,  N.  Y 

Chnton,  N.  Y  ... 
Fordham.  NY... 
Geneva.  N.  Y.... 
Hamilton,  N.Y... 

Ithaca.  N.  Y 

New  York 

New  York . 

New  York 

New  York 

New  York 

Po'keepsie,  N.  Y. 
Rochester,  N.  Y.. 
Schenectady, N.Y. 
Syracuse,  N.  Y.. . 

Chapel  Hill,  N.C. 
DavidsonCollege, 

N.C 

Mount    Pleasant, 

N.  C 

Trinity,  N.  C  ... 
Wake  Forest, N.C 
Happy  Home,N.C 

Wilson,  N.  C 

Athens,  Ohio 

Berea,  Ohio 

Berea,  Ohio , 

Cincinnati,  Ohio. 
Cincinnati,  Ohio. 

College  Hi]l,Ohio 
Delaware,  Ohio.. 
Gambier,  Ohio.. . 
Granville,  Ohio.. 
Hiram,  Ohio 


Religious 
Denomina- 
tion. 


[860  P.  E. 
[868  Presb. 


1854 


1856 
18.S.S 
t8i2 

1846 
1822 
1846 

186  s 

1866 

I86I 
1754 

1863 


Non-Sect. 
R.  C. 
R.  C. 
R.  C. 

Univers'list 
Presb. 
Presb. 
R  C. 

P.  E. 
Baptist. 
Non-Sect. 
Non-Sect. 

R   C. 

Non-Sect. 
R.  C. 


18  ^o  Non-Sect. 
1861 1  Non-Sect. 
1850' Baptist. 
1 70 <5  Non-Sect. 
1870  M.  E. 


1789 
1837 
i85g 

18^2 
1835 
I87I 

1872 

1804 
1856 
1864 
1842 
1870 

185.^ 
1842 

18.24 

rS32 
1867 


Non-Sect. 

Presb. 

Luth. 
M.  E.  So. 
Baptist. 
Non-Sect. 
Non-Sect. 
Non-Sect. 
M.  E. 
M.  E. 
R  C. 
Non-Sect. 

Non-Sect. 
M.  E 
P.  E. 
Baptist. 
Disciples. 


5 

37 

12 

32 

13 
11 

85 

^5 

194 

10 

22 

7 

40 

12 

7^ 
160 

25 

9 

49 
60 

II 

9.? 

47 

120 

IS 

523 

r8 
14 
15 

1 

!.■> 

no 

30 
9 

217 
i?8 

>7 
8 

17.J 
139 

II 

171 

6 

74 

6 
.■> 
7 

24 
87 
r8r 

II 

9 

2.}8 

48 

5 

43 

10 

151 

6 

60 

!.■; 

58 

10 

104 

10 

IS 

1 

270 
66 

6 

6.5 

6 

194 

4)  >» 

6'k 


>  c 


2500 
1500 

3075 
500 

2ogo 

8530 

1000 

12000 

15000 

IIOOO 

41222 
18200 

18000 
2198s 


3692 

14000 
17080 
20000 
9000 

7000 

3000 

"43 
1800 
7100 
5000 
1200 
7800 
2  too 

5.50 

12000 
I460I3 


15000 

22000 

10000 

900 


*  Admits  both  sexes. 


t  Admits  men  only 


t  Admits  women  only. 


208 


APPENDIX. 


Name. 


♦Western  Reserve  Coll.  ^., 

tMarietta  Collegfe 

*Mt.  Union  College 

♦Muskingham  College 

♦Oberlin  College 

*McCorkle  College 

*One-Study  University 

♦Wittenberg  College 

♦Heidelberg  College 

tUrbana  University 

♦Otterbein  University 

♦Geneva  College 

♦Willoughby  College 

Wilmington  College 

♦University  of  Wooster 

♦Wilberforce  University . . . 

♦Xenia  College 

♦Antioch  College 

♦University  of  Oregon 

♦Pacific     University     and 

Tualatin  Academy 

♦Christian  College 

♦Philomath  College 

tMuhlenberg  College 

♦Lebanon  Valley  College  .. 

tDickinson  College 

Lincoln  University 

+Lafayette  College 

tUrsinus  College 

+  Pennsylvania  College 

♦Thiel  College. .    

tHavertord  College 

♦Monongahela  College 

+Franklin     and      Marshall 

College 

+St  Vincent's  College 

^University  at  Lewisburg.. 

♦Allegheny  College 

♦Mercersburg  College 

tPalatinate  College 

♦New  Castle  College 

♦Westminster  College 


Location. 


Hudson,  Ohio  ... 
Marietta,  Ohio.. 
Mt.  Union,  Ohio. 
New     Concord, 

Ohio 

Oberlin,  Ohio  ... 

Sago,  Ohio . 

Scio,  Ohio 

Springfield,  Ohio, 
Tiffin,  Ohio...... 

Urbana,  Ohio. . .. 

West  erville,  Ohio 
W.  Geneva,  Ohio. 
Willoughby,  Ohio 
Wilmingt'n,  Ohio 
Wooster,  Ohio... 

Xenia,  Ohio 

Xenia,  Ohio..  ..  . 
Yellow     Springs 

Ohio 

Eugene     City 

Oreg.,  

Forest    Grove, 

Oreg 

Monmouth,  Oreg. 
Philomath,  Oreg. 

Allentown,  Pa 

Annville,  Pa 

Carlisle,  Pa 

Chester    County, 

Pa 

Easton,  Pa 

Freeland,  Pa 

Gettysburg,  Pa  . 
Greenville,  Pa... 
Haverford,  Pa... 
Jefferson,  Pa 


Lancaster,  Pa 

Near  Latrobe,  Pa. 
Lewisburg,  Pa. . . 
iMeadville,  Pa  . . . 
i Mercersburg,  Pa. 
Myerstown,  Pa  .. 
[New  Castle,  Pa.. 
New  Wirgt'n,Pa. 


«  eg 


Religious 
Denomina- 
tion. 


o  u  I 

■•?  \ 

Hi 


Non-Sect. 
Non-  Sect. 
Non-Sect, 

Non  Sect. 
Cong. 
P.  (asso.) 
M   E. 
Ev.  Luth. 
Reformed. 
New  C'h. 
U.  Ereth. 
Ref  Pres. 
Meth 
Friends. 
Presb. 
Af   M.E. 
ME. 


852  Non- Sect. 

87^  Non-Sect. 

854 

865  Christian. 

867  U.  Breth. 


Luth 

U.  Breth. 

M.  E. 

Presb. 

Presb. 

Ref  Get. 

Luth. 

Luth 

Friends. 

Baptist. 


853  Reformed. 
870  R.  C. 
84C  Baptist. 
817'M.  E. 
865  Reformed. 
868  Reformed. 
875 1  Non-Sect. 
852 1 U.  Presb. 


o  c 
.  o 

CO 


>  c 


7000 
16509 
5000 

400 
15000 

150 
800 
8000 
4000 
5100 
1200 
490 

1000 

5700 
4000 


6000 

500 

5000 
220 
800 
2200 
1314 
7974 


19000 

7925 

3949 

8550 

200 

3000 

8000 

10000 

760 

350 
3000 


♦  Admits  both  sexes.  t  Admits  men  only.  %  Admits  women  only. 

1  Removed  to  Cleveland  under  name  of  Adelbert  College. 


APPENDIX. 


209 


Name. 


+La  Salle  College  

tSt.  Joseph's  College 

tUniversity  of  P'sylvania. . 
tWestern     University     of 

Pennsylvania 

+The  Lehigh  University. . . 


Location. 


Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Pittsburg,  Pa  ... 
South  Bethle- 
hem, Pa 

Swarthmore,  Pa.. 


♦Swarthmore  College 

tAu?nistinian  College  of  St.  I 

Thomas  of  Villanova Villanova,  Pa 

+Washington  and  Jefferson! 

College I  Washington,  Pa. . 

♦Waynesburg  College IWaynesburg,  Pa. 

tBrown  University [Providence,  R.  I. 

tCollege  of  Charleston j Charleston,  S.  C. 

tUniversity  of  South  Caro-| 

Una  ^ I  Columbia,  S.  C... 

tErskme  College Due  West,  S C 

Furman  University iGreenville,  S.  C  . 

tWoflE ord  College  Spartanburg,S  C 

+Newberry  College    j Walhalla,  S.  C... . 

♦East  Tennessee  Wesleyan 

University 

•Beech  Grove  College 


tSouth     Western    Presby 

terian  University 

tHiwassee  College ^.. 


Athens,  Tenn.     . 

Beech    Grove, 

Tenn 


'U 


Clarksville,  Tenn. 

Hiwassee  Coll'ge, 

Tenn.. 

♦Greenville  and  Tusculum 

College Home,  Tenn. 

+Southwestern  Baptist  Uni-j 

versity ! Jackson,  Tenn... 

tCumberland  University. ..'Lebanon.  Tenn  . 

♦Bethel  College  McKenzie,  Tenn 

♦McKenzie  College     ! .McKenzie,  Tenn 

♦Manchester  College Manchest'r.Tenn. 

♦Maryville  College  ....     . .  [Maryville,  Tenn. 

tChnstian    Brothers'    C0I-' 

lege Memphis,  Tenn . 

♦Mosheim    Male    and    Fe- 
male Institute Mosheim,  Tenn. 

tMossy  Creek  Baptist  Col- Mossy  Creek 
lege Tenn 

♦Central  Tennessee  College  Nashville,  Tenn 

♦Fisk  University . .  Nashville,  Tenn. 


Religious 
Denomina- 
tion. 


863  R.  C. 
852  R.  C. 
755 !  Non-Sect. 

819  Non-Sect. 

I 
86s  P-  E. 
864:  Friends. 

848  R.  C. 

802  Presb. 
850  Cumb.  P. 
764  Baptist. 
785  Non-Sect. 


Non-Sect. 
Ass.  R  P. 
Baptist. 
M.  E.  So. 
Ev.  Luth. 

M.  E. 

Non-Sect. 

Presb.  S. 

M.  E.  So. 

Non-Sect. 


801 
841 
850 
851 

858 

867 

869 

875 

850 

794 

874  Baptist 
842 1  Cumb.  P. 
847  Cumb.  P. 
871 1  Non-Sect. 
856  Non-Sect. 
842 


Presb. 

R.  C. 

Luth. 

Baptist. 
M.  E. 
Non-Sect. 


•^i" 

^yi 

0  u 

0  c 

0  0 

o-a 

"^t 

J^R 

H 

V) 

12 

QI 

ir 

166 

16 

139 

10 

97 

II 

75 

16 

129 

II 

122 

8 

M-J 

6 

117 

'7 

247 

7 

30 

II 

89 

5 

53 

■; 

T\ 

9 

«3 

5 

44 

7 

161 

5 

32 

6 

77 

9 

193 

xo 

22 

7 

187 

5 

38 

4 

1^2 

6 

63 

2 

27 

4 

37 

12 

60 

3 

23 

4 

40 

18 

^ 

24 

i8cjo 
4000 


3500 
3966 


900 

53000 

7600 

28000 
1000 
1700 


2500 

20x5 

6000 

1300 

2500 

47t 

520 

3000 

2600 

300 


1525 
2037 


♦  Admits  both  sexes.  t  Admits  men  only.  %  Admits  women  only. 

1  Suspended,  it  is  hoped  only  temporarily. 


2IO 


APPENDIX, 


Name. 


tVanderbilt  University.... 
tUniversity  of  the  South. . . 
tTexas  Military  Institute.. 

tSt.  Joseph's  College 

tSouthwestern  University.. 
tBaylor  University 


♦Salado  College  

*Waco  University 

♦University  of  Vermont.... 

tMiddlebury  College  

tNorwich  University 

+Randolph  Macon  College.. 
tEmory    and    Henry    Col- 
lege         

tHampden  Sydney  College. : 

tWashington  and  Lee  Uni-| 

versity  . . i 

Richmond  College | 

tRoanoke  College \ 

tUniversity  of  Virginia i 

tCollege    of    William    and' 

Mary.^  | 

tBethany  College I 

*West  Virginia  College. . 


Location. 


Nashville,  Tenn. . 
Sewanee,  Tenn... 

Austin,  Tex 

Brownsville,  Tex. 
Georgetown  ,Tex. 
Independence, 

Tex 

Salado,  Tex 

Waco,  Tex 

Burlington,  Vt... 
Middlebury,  Vt... 
Northfield,  Vt.... 
Ashland,  Va 


Emory,  Va 

Hampden  Sid- 
ney, Va  


Lexington,  Va... . 
Richmond,  Va... 

Salem,  Va . . . 

University  of  Vir- 
ginia, Va 


♦West  Virginia  University. 


♦Lawrence  University. . . . 

tBeloit  College 

♦Galesville  University. . . . 
♦University  of  Wisconsin . 

*Milton  Collegre 

+St.  John's  College 


•f Racine  College 

♦Ripon  College  

tNorth western  University., 

■J-Georgetown  College  . 

tColumbian  University 

♦Howard  University 

tNational  Deaf  Mute  Col- 
lege  


Williamsburg,  Va, 
Bethany,  W.  Va. 
Flemington,     W. 

Va 

Morgantown,  W. 

Va 

Appleton,  Wis.  .. 
jBeloit,  Wis....... 

Galesville,  Wis... 

Madison.  Wis 

iMilton,  Wis 

Prairie  du  Chien, 

I     Wis 

Racine,  Wis 

Ripon,  Wis 

Watertown,  Wis. 
Georgetown  .D .  C. 
iWashingt'n,  D.C. 
I  Washington,  D,C. 


o  o     Religious 
^  J5 :  Denomina 
tion. 


QG 


187^  M.  E.  So. 

1857  P.  E. 

...    Non-Sect. 

R  C 
i875,M".  E.  So. 

1845  Baptist. 
1 859  Non-Sect. 
1861 1  Baptist. 
1791  Non-Sect. 
1800  Cong. 
1834T.  E. 
i830|M.  E.  So. 

1839  M.  E.  So. 

i783Presb. 

i782|Non  Sect. 
844  Baptist. 
853  Luth. 

Non-Sect. 


1819 

1693 
1840 

1868 

1867 
,847 
1846 

1854 
1848 
1867 

1873 

1852:  P 

1855" 

1864 

1815 

1821 

1867 


|Washingt'n,  D.C.|i864 


Non-Sect. 
Christian. 

F.  W.  B. 

Non-Sect. 
M.  E. 
Co.  &  Pr, 
M.  E. 
Non-Sect. 
S.  D.  Bap. 

R.  C. 
E. 
Co.  &  Pr. 
Luth. 
R  C. 
Baptist. 
Non-Sect. 

Non-Sect. 


V-S2 

^t 

0  <u 

0  c 

6  jJ 

CO 

^t 

ZH 

H 

in 

15 

91 

9 

120 

5 

40 

5 

70 

7 

103 

6 

8S 

7 

20 

11 

300 

10 

63 

8 

39 

6 

.S50 

6 

127 

5 

66 

5 

56 

9 

8 

121 

7 

76 

IS 

347 

.■> 

27 

6 

94 

5 

4 

9 

62 

11 

87 

9 

64 

8 

u 

32 

340 

9 

44 

12 

80 

6 

S6 

11 

62 

6 

^4 

23 

62 

10 

47 

4 

15 

7 

30 

♦  Admits  both  sexes.  +  Admits  men  only.  \  Admits  women  only. 

1  Suspended,  it  is  hoped  only  temporarily. 


INDEX. 


Amherst,  amoiint  of  instruction  at,  23 ; 
distinguished  graduates  of,  130 ; 
expenses  at,  30  ;  gymnastics  at,  88, 
89,  90  ;  instruction  in  classics,  6  ; 
history,  16  ;  mathematics,  7  ;  mod- 
em languages,  10  ;  natural  science, 
12  ;  philosophy,  14  ;  rhetoric,  19  ; 
pecimiary  aid  at,  31,  32  ;  religion 
at,  55,  59,  61,  62,  64,  67 ;  require- 
ments for  admission,  2,  3. 

Antioch  College,  co-education  at,  191, 
192. 

Athletics,  32,  seg. 

Athletic  Associations,  87,  88. 

Base-ball,  82,  83. 

Berea,  religion  at,  61. 

Beloit,  expenses  at,  36 ;  instruction  in 
philosophy  at,  15  ;  in  history,  17  ; 
pecuniary  aid  at,  37. 

Boating,  origin  and  progress  of,  83, 84 ; 
compared  with  English,  85,  86; 
effect  on  health,  87  ;  on  scholarship, 
87,  88  ;  training  for,  86,  87. 

Boston  University,  amount  of  instruc- 
tion at,  23  ;  co-education,  184  ;  ex- 
penses at,  36  ;  pecuniary  aid  at, 
37- 

Bowdoin,  amount  of  instruction  at,  23  ; 
distinguished   graduates   of,  130; 


expenses  at,  36 ;  intemperance  at, 
41 ;  pecuniary  aid  at,  38  ;  religion 
at,  61,  62. 

Brown  University,  expenses  at,  36 ; 
pecuniary  aid  at,  38  ;  religion  at, 
60,  61,  64. 

Butler  University,  co-education,  195. 

California  University,  amount  of  in- 
struction at,  23 ;  expenses  at,  36 ; 
pecuniary  aid  at,  38. 

Cambridge,  Eng.,  distinguished  grad- 
uates of,  137  ;  expenses  at,  35  ;  fel- 
lowships at,  108 ;  wealth  of,  158, 
seq. 

Choice  of  a  College,  117,  seq. 

Classics,  study  of,  5,  6. 

Co-education,  178,  seg. 

Columbia,  advantages  offered  for  edu- 
cation of  women,  199  ;  boating  at, 
85  ;  expenses  at,  37  ;  pecuniary  aid 
at,  38. 

Cornell,  amount  of  instruction  at,  23  ; 
co-education  at,  194 ;  expenses  at, 
36  ;  pecuniary  aid  at,  38. 

Cricket,  81,  82. 

Dartmouth,  amount  of  instruction  at, 
23  ;  expenses  at,  39  ;  journalism  at, 
91  ;  pecuniary  aid  at,  38 ;  religion 
at,  55,  61,  62,  64,  67. 

211 


212 


INDEX. 


Day  of  prayer  for  colleges,  (>(>. 

Denominational  colleges,  67,  145. 

Elective  system,  20,  21,  22. 

Endowments,  geographical  distribu- 
tion of,  149,  seq.-^  usefulness  of,  151, 
seq.'^  of  English  Universities,  156, 
seq. 

Fellowships,  107,  seq. 

Fine  Arts,  study  of,  18. 

Foot-ball,  81,  82. 

German  Universities,  expenses  at,  35. 

Gymnastics,  88  ;  effect  of,  on  health,  88, 
89,  90. 

Hamilton,  amount  of  instruction  at,  23  ; 
expenses  at,  36  ;  pecuniary  aid  at, 
38  ;  religion  at,  64. 

Harvard,  amount  of  instruction  at,  23  ; 
"  Annex,"  198,  199 ;  base-ball  at, 
83,  84  ;  boating  at,  82,  83  ;  distin- 
guished graduates  of,  130 ;  ex- 
penses at,  27,  28  ;  fellowships,  112  ; 
gymnastics,  88 ;  instruction  in 
classics  at,  5 ;  in  fine  arts,  18 ;  in 
history,  16  ;  in  mathematics,  6 ;  in 
modern  languages,  8  ;  in  natural 
science,  II ;  in  philosophy,  13;  in 
rhetoric,  18  ;  journalism  at,  93,  94  ; 
pecuniary  aid  at,  29,  30 ;  religion 
at,  55i  561  57»  61,  62,  64;  require- 
ments for  admission,  3 ;  societies 
at,  73,  74- 

Haverford,  expenses  at,  36  ;  pecuniary 
aid  at,  38. 

History,  study  of,  15,  16,  17. 

Illinois  College,  expenses  at,  36  ;  pecu- 
niary aid  at,  38  ;  religion  at,  59. 

Instruction,  expenses  of,  162,  seq. 

Intemperance  in  College,  40,  seq. 

Iowa  College,  co-education  at,  192 ; 
religion  at,  58,  61,  65. 

Jefferson  on  a  National  University,  167, 
seq. 


Johns  Hopkins,  fellowships  at,  112, 113 

Journals,  evils  of,  105  ;  number  and 
size  of,  90,  91  ;  uses  of,  105,  106. 

Kansas,  University  of,  co-education  at, 
195- 

Lampoon,  98. 

Licentiousness,  43,  44. 

Madison  on  a  National  University,  163. 

Marietta,  religion  at,  61,  65. 

Mathematics,  study  of,  6,  7,  8. 

Michigan  University,  amount  of  in- 
struction at,  23;  co-education  at,  184, 
195,  196 ;  expenses  at,  36  ;  instruc- 
tion in  history  at,  17 ;  in  mathe- 
matics, 7;  in  modem  languages, 
10 ;  in  natural  science,  12  ;  in  phi- 
losophy, 15  ;  in  rhetoric,  17 ;  intem- 
perance at,  42 ;  pecuniary  aid  at, 
38 ;  religion  at,  60 ;  requirements 
for  admission,  3. 

Middlebury,  amount  of  instruction  at, 
23;  instruction  in  classics,  6;  in 
history,  17  ;  in  mathematics,  7 ;  in 
natural  science,  12 ;  in  philosophy, 
14  ;  in  rhetoric,  19  ;  religion  at,  61, 
62,  67. 

Modem  Languages,  study  of,  8,  seq. 

Morality,  44,  seq. ;  promotion  of,  48, 
seq.  \  compared  with  English  Uni- 
versities, 53,  54. 

Natural  Science,  study  of,  11,  seq. 

New  York  College,  amount  of  instruc- 
tion at,  23. 

Northwestern  University,  amount  of 
instruction  at,  23  ;  expenses  at,  36  ; 
pecuniary  aid  at,  38. 

Oberlin,  amount  of  instruction  at, 23;  co- 
education at,  182,  183,  184,  190,  194, 
195  ;  expenses  at,  36  ;  instruction  in 
history,  17; mathematics,  8;  modem 
languages,  11 ;  natural  science,  13 ; 
philosophy,  15 ;  rhetoric,  20 ;   in- 


INDEX. 


213 


temperance  at,  42 ;  pecuniary  aid 
at,  38 ;  religion  at,  59,  60,  65. 

Oxford  University,  distinguished  grad- 
uates of,  137 ;  expenses  at,  35 ; 
fellowships  at,  107  ;  wealth  of,  158, 
seq. 

Philosophy,  study  of,  13,  seq. 

Poverty  of  Colleges,  143,  145. 

Princeton,  amount  of  instruction  at, 
23 ;  expenses  at,  36  ;  fellowships 
at,  no ;  pecuniary  aid  at,  38 ;  relig- 
ion at,  55,  60,  61,  64. 

Religion  in  foundation  of  Colleges,  55, 
56,  58,  59 ;  in  government  and  in- 
struction of,  56,  57,  58. 

Revivals  in  college,  64,  seq. 

Rhetoric,  study  of,  18,  seq. 

Ripon,  religion  at,  61,  ^^5. 

Rowing  Association,  84. 

St.  Lawrence  University,  co-education 
at,  184,  185,  192. 

Smith  College,  expenses  at,  35  ;  religion 
at,  65. 

Societies,  literary,  advantages  of,  70; 
defects  of,  71  ;  secret  advantages 
of,  77 ;  evils  of,  78 ;  expenses  of, 
76 ;  religion,  63. 

Trinity,  amount  of  instruction  at,  23 ; 
expenses  at,  37 ;  p)ecuniary  aid  at, 
38. 

Tufts,  expenses  at,  37 ,  pecuniary  aid 
at,  38. 

Union,  expenses  at,  36 ;  pecuniary  aid 
at,  39. 

University  Quarterly,  96. 

University,  a  national,  166,  seq. 


Universities,  German,  relation  to  the 

government,  176,  seq. 

Vassar,  amount  of  instruction  at,  23  • 
expenses  at,  34,  36 ;  pecuniary  aid 
at,  39  ;  religion  at,  64,  65. 

Vermont  University,  amount  of  in- 
struction at,  23. 

Virginia  University,  amount  of  instruc- 
tion at ,  23  ;  expenses  at,  36 ;  pecu- 
niary aid  at,  39. 

Washington  on  a  National  University, 
166,  seq. 

Wealth  of  colleges,  145,  seq. 

Wesleyan,  amount  of  instruction  at, 
23  ;  expenses  at,  36  ;  pecuniary  aid 
at,  39  ;  religion  at,  61,  64. 

Western  Reserve,  religion  at,  59. 

Williams,  expenses  at,  36 ;  pecuniary 
aid  at,  39  ;  religion  at,  61,  62,  64. 

Wisconsin,  University  of ,  co-education 
at,  186,  187,  196,  197. 

Women,  education  of,  178,  seq. 

Yale,  amount  of  instruction  at,  23 ; 
baseball  at,  82,  83 :  boating  at,  83, 
84 ;  distinguished  graduates  of,  129 ; 
fellowships  at,  109 ;  gymnastics  at, 
88  ;  instruction  in  classics  at,  5  ;  in 
fine  arts,  18  ;  in  history,  16 ;  in 
mathematics,  7 ;  in  modern  lan- 
guages, 9  ;  in  natural  science,  12 ; 
in  philosophy,  13 ;  in  rhetoric,  19 ; 
intemperance  at,  40,  41 ;  journalism 
at,  92,  93 ;  pecuniary  aid  at,  39 ; 
religion  at,  55,  64,  65,  67;  secret 
societies  at,  73. 


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